Empty Dreams
by Selffie
Summary: Rikku's been having dreams about a man that she's never met. When he shows up and claims to be Sir Auron's son, Rikku is bewildered. As their relationship starts to form, Gippal starts getting nervous. Is it jealousy? RikkuxGippal, a bit of RikkuxOC. R&R.
1. Chapter I

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Disclaimer: I do not own FFX or FFX-2.

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Chapter I

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Her dream always started out the same.

There was a grand ballroom, stairs cascading down to the marble covered floors. Couples waltzed across the room, footsteps echoing above the music. Just as the song ended, Rikku entered through the large double doors parallel to the stairs.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, glaring, unblinking. As if they could stare right through her and learn all her secrets. Rikku meekly edged her way towards the dancers, frightened and nervous. But she didn't know why.

The next song began to play. The dancers resumed their activities. Relief washed over her; she lifted up the edges of her pale golden dress and kept walking forward. That's when she noticed that a single man had not continued to dance. He was standing in the very center of the room, people moving all around him. No one noticed him, no one cared. He was staring at her.

Rikku felt herself step toward him, eyes locked with his own. The man had the most piercing chocolate brown eyes. They looked so familiar. His skin was tan, his body lean yet muscular. His spiked hair almost matched his eyes.

The man held out his hand to her, and she willfully took it. His presence felt so familiar. His other arm wrapped around her waist.

Then he kissed her.

The dream ended.

Her Chocobo alarm clock went off, the noise penetrating her blissful sleep. Rikku groaned, swatting her arm in the direction of the annoying sound. When she failed to hit anything, her green swirling eyes snapped open.

"Ohh, boy. Do I _have _to get up?" The Al Bhed whined to her alarm. The Chocobo clock only continued to squeek, "Kwee! Kwee! Kwee!"

_'I guess that's a no,'_ Rikku thought sourly to herself. She mentally reproached herself; it wasn't like her at all to be pessimistic. She was always the spunky, bubbly Al Bhed Princess, the one everyone counted on to cheer them up. She _couldn't _be unhappy. It was against her lifestyle. But lately, she had just felt so alone. And that was the only thing she couldn't handle: loneliness. It was something she never had to deal with, something she never wanted to. There was no turning back now, though; everyone else had an occupation. It was time for her to grow up.

Yuna had retired back to Besaid, her home at heart. And of course, Tidus was there. They had gotten married a while back, and as much as Rikku was happy for them, she just felt so numb inside. Yeah, she was glad her cousin was happy, but what about _her? _

_'Oi, I sound so conceited and self-centered right now... I'm not even talking out loud; that's really sad.'_

Paine had been hanging out with her old friends, from the Crimson Squad lately. Particularly Nooj and Baralai. From the looks of it, Rikku could see that their old friendship was being rekindled. Paine was spending less and less time visiting Yuna, and she only saw Rikku when she stopped by to meet with Gippal.

Yeah, Rikku was Djose Temple. Let's face it, she had no where else to run to. Life at Besaid drove her crazy; it was just so _boring_. And no, it's not that Rikku had ADD. She just needed some action. And besides, Besaid wasn't exactly that fond of machina.

After a few months of idley running around and bugging nearly everyone she thought was her friend, Cid had ordered Rikku to do something with her life after the defeat at Vegnagun. His first suggestion was to keep Brother out of trouble. When Rikku outright refused to go anywhere near her Mohawk bearing, tattoo-covered sibling, Cid suggested that he help her with his business in Zanarkand. Rikku laughed right in his face at this, a sarcastic and cruel laugh. Exasperated, Cid ordered her to sign up at Djose. He didn't care what she did, she could dig at Bikanel, she could fix machina - _anything. _As long as she did _something. _

So here she was, working in Djose Temple, tinkering with machina for the last few months. Rikku got paid well enough, but the workers were driving her crazy. The male portion was full of cheesy pick-up lines, and apparently the only topic open for discussion in the female portion was Gippal. From the usual dose of gossip she endured every day, it was clear that he had gone out with over half of the girls that worked for him, and a few of them more than once.

It made Rikku sick, the fact that all of these girls adored him, even though he didn't care a smidgen about them. And it pained her that she was only one of the many that had fallen for him. So, after about fortnight of listening to the women's mindless chatter, she started avoiding Gippal. It was easy enough; Gippal didn't exactly go out looking for her, and she reported to other workers that were superior to her. Gippal was the head honcho, and she was new; there was no way she'd report directly to him, anyway.

The reoccurring dreams, the empty feeling of loneliness, and her sense of rejection had slowly brought Rikku from happy-go-lucky to depressed. Maybe not depressed, exactly, but out of it. She no longer cared for gossip or visiting old friends or parties. Rikku spoke less, and when she did, her voice was quiet, almost eerie.

Unbeknownst to Rikku, Gippal had noticed her change in disposition. He noticed her eat less, speak less, smile less. He noticed that she was avoiding him. So, he took the liberty of searching her out at lunch hour one day.

Gippal eventually found her in a corner of the cafeteria, reading. _Reading. 'Rikku plus reading equals disaster. Something strange is goin' on.' _Gippal thought to himself, a little bewildered at the sight. It was an instruction manual for building a certain machina, but still. Freaky.

"Hey, Cid's girl," Gippal flashed a smile, noticing a gaggle of female workers a few tables away gaping at him.

"I have a name, Gippal," Rikku spoke, a serious tone in her voice. Her eyes lingered on a page of the manual before she snapped the book shut and gazed up at him. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Gippal looked a little uncomfortable. He wasn't used to a girl acting so rude to him, especially Rikku. "Well, for starters, you could eat something. I can't have people thinking that I starve my workers," he joked.

Rikku's mouth twitched, but she didn't smile.

"Look, do I really need an excuse to talk to an old friend?"

"Yes," Rikku instantly replied, then covered it up. "No, no you don't. I guess." She flipped the pages of her her manual idly.

"Something's wrong," Gippal said. A statement.

"With?"

"You," he took a seat across from her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do."

Rikku didn't reward him with an answer. She kept silent.

"What is it, Rikku? You know you can trust me,"

Rikku almost snorted at this statement, an ugly thought filling up her mind. '_Just like all those other women can trust you? Please. I'd rather talk one of those women ogling at you over there.'_

"Excuse me?" Gippal asked incredulously. Rikku sounded pissed.

'_Whoops. I guess I accidentally said that out loud.'_

"Heh, it's not my fault that they ogle at me. Who could resist?"

Rikku snapped her book open forcefully, and resumed her reading. "Go away," She tried the best to make her voice uninterested, unwavered by emotion.

That little comment got under Gippal's skin. "In case you forgot, I'm the leader of the Machine Faction. I could have you fired like that," he snapped his fingers and grinned. When Rikku failed to respond or even give any sign that she had heard him, Gippal rose from the table and walked away.

As soon as Gippal had left the premises, the group of 'Gippal's girls' stumbled over to her table and plopped down all around her.

"So," one of the wide-eyed Al Bhed woman said, "What did he say to you? Did he ask you out?"

"When are you going?"

"It can't be this weekend, Runnet is already going out with him-"

"Maybe he cancelled it; she's going to be so angry..."

"Isn't he gorgeous?"

"Rich, cute, and Al Bhed. The works."

"I can't believe you grew up with him in Home." One of the more intelligent girls cut in. "Tell me, what was he like?"

"Oh yes, tell us!"

"I bet he was really sweet-

"So adorable."

Rikku cleared her throat and gazed at the women, since ignoring them obviously hadn't worked out as well as she had hoped. "He was cocky and arrogant. The Gippal I knew teased and tormented me, pulled my braids and called me a baby. He told his friends that we were going out, just because my father was Cid."

"You're Cid's daughter?" One of the less bright girls asked, receiving a glare from the others.

"Duh, that's why Gippal calls her Cid's girl."

"He calls her Cid's girl?"

"Wow, she even got a nickname from him!"

"I want him to give me a nickname."

"I hear he calls Talia 'Tee', that's sort of a nickname."

"Everyone calls her that, Alice."

Rikku slowly rose from her seat and edged from the table, now that she was out of the conversation. Any more of that and she'd be ready to jump off of a tower in the Thunder Plains.

She needed to get away from all of this, from everything, even if just for a little while. Maybe she'd take a few days off and go stay at an inn for a little bit. Yes, that sounded like a great idea. She'd leave early tomorrow afternoon.

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First Person - Rikku POV

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Rikku gingerly opened the door of the inn, glancing carefully at her surroundings. The walls were tan, the hard wood floor a maroon color. Beautiful paintings of the desert hung from the walls. All in all, it seemed like a very warm, comforting place to stay. To relax. She made my way up to the innkeeper's desk; he was a cheerful looking burly man, with red cheeks and a bright smile. "Welcome to the Macalanian Inn," he smiled at me. "You have reservations? If you don't, you'll have to leave. This place is booked. Since Macalanian Woods have stopped dying, we set up here. Who'd have thought it'd be such a hit?""It's under 'Rikku'," She informed him, again looking around, taking in the comforting atmosphere.

"Ah, here it is. Room 212, third floor. Here's your key," He handed her a worn out looking silver key, a key chain attached reading, '212'. "Have a nice stay," he tipped his hat to her and went back to whatever he had been doing.

Since Rikku had brought nothing with her, she slowly made her way to the common room. She had never been to this large of an inn, it must have really been a hit. And completely booked? Maybe she'd meet a few people, to take her mind off of her troubles.

The first thing she noticed when she entered was the amount of loud, boisterous people occupying it. Not to mention the number of drunken fools at the bar. There were instruments playing in the background, a low melody. Rikku made her way to the bar, and ordered some water. The workers at the bar laughed at her. Rikku rose an eyebrow. They stopped laughing.

Water in hand, Rikku took a seat near a corner, against a wall. Taking a sip, she noticed it wasn't water; it was tea.

"Do they even _have _water in this place?" Rikku hissed, drinking a little bit more. Well, what could she say? It _was _good tea.

Leaning back and sighing, Rikku noticed that a new song started to play. She froze when she heard the melody.

It was the song that started to play in her dream. The song that started when she entered the ballroom. She new it was just a tune, just a melody, but it seemed as if it should have lyrics... As if it actually _had _lyrics.

Her thoughts were shattered when she heard a man start singing. Apparently he wasn't apart of the musicians, because everyone's gaze snapped towards the direction of the voice.

The man was sitting at a corner bench table, a large dark cloak covering his figure. She couldn't see his face, but her chosen spot was awefully close to his. His voice sounded so familiar.

The music didn't stop when he started singing, it merely got louder. The lyrics just fit, they were apart of the song.

He sang: _"Living my life in a slow hill, _

_Different girl every night at the hotel,_

_I ain't seen the sun shine in three damn days._

_Been fueling up on cocaine and whiskey,_

_Wish I had a good girl who'd miss me,_

_Though I wonder if I'll ever change my ways,_

_I put your picture away, sat down and cried today,_

_I can't look at you while I'm lying next to her."_

To her vast amazement, her mouth opened up and lyrics poured out, lyrics that Rikku had never even heard before. How did she know them?

Everyone's eyes went to me for a moment, then they slowly turned back and just listened. The man in the corner's eyes widened; he was apparently just as confused and bewildered as she was.

_Rikku sang: "I called you last night in the hotel,_

_Everyone knows but they won't tell,_

_But their half-hearted smiles tell me something just ain't right,_

_I've been waitin' on you for a long time,_

_Fueling up on heartaches and cheap wine,_

_I ain't heard from you in three damn nights._

_I put your picture away, I wonder where you've been,_

_I can't look at you while I'm lying next to him."_

The lyrics ceased, and Rikku looked up at the man, wondering if he was going to start. He locked eyes with her, still the same bewildered expression as before.

Rikku sang: "_I saw you yesterday with an old friend._

He sang: _It was the same old same, 'How have you been?'_

They sang: _Since you've been gone my world's been dark and gray,_

He sang: _You reminded me of brighter days,_

Rikku sang: _I hoped you're coming home to stay,_

_I was head of the church,_

He sang: _I was off to drink you away,"_

They sang: "_I've thought about you for a long time,_

_Can't seem to get you off my mind,_

_I can't understand why we're living life this way,_

_I found your picture today,_

_I swear I'll change my ways,_

_I just called to say I want you to come back home,_

_I just called to say I love you, come back home."_

The song ended. Everyone turns back to their drinks and company, and the musicians start playing another song. An irrelevant song.

Rikku felt herself rise up and walk towards the man's table. _'What am I doing? What am I thinking?' _she thought desperately as she sat down across from the man. They sat in silence for some minutes, eyes locked. Then, the man lowered his cloak. Rikku gasped aloud, and then scolded herself. She had known since the song, since the voice. It was the man from her dream. From the look on his face, she could tell that he recognized her as well. Is it possible that they had been having the same dream?

'_Keep calm, Rikku. Calm,' _she told herself, over and over.

"What's your name?"

"Leije," he answered in a husky voice. "And you're Rikku, I presume?"

She nodded. Silence followed.

"That was an interesting event, I must say," Leije finally broke the silence, referring to their little duet.

"Yeah... weird," she answered lamely, causing him to smile, a bit nervous.

Staring at him intently, Rikku commented, "You look familiar."

"As do you."

"No I mean... You look like someone I used to know, I think. Not from the dream," she stuttered, and then started cursing in Al Bhed.

"Dream?" A smile played at his lips.

"Ah, did I say that? What dream? I didn't have a dream, and if I did, you certainly wouldn't have been in it, and there wasn't any dancing either-" Rikku blurted out without thinking, as Leije laughed at her.

"Auron!" Rikku gasped, thoughts finally linking together. "That's who you remind me of. Did you know him? Sir Auron, that is?"

His laughter died at the mention of that name.

"Well?"

"He was my father,"

Rikku's eyes widened at this remark. "Auron had a _son?_" she sputtered.

"Yes," He raised an eyebrow. "My father left to be a guardian when I was seven. I didn't know him very well before he left. A very distant man, my father was."

"Yeah..." Rikku commented, thinking of how he had acted on Yuna's pilgrimage. He was awfully moody, even if he was dead. "So, where do you live?"

"Live? I don't live anywhere."

"You wander then? Don't you have any family left?"

"My mother."

"Where does she live?"

"Bevelle."

"I'd like to meet her. Since I knew Auron and all." Rikku pondered.

Leije grinned. "Well, that was pretty forward of you. Already want to meet my mother, eh?"

Rikku's cheeks heated up, but she brushed that aside. "Ugh, that's not what I meant. I mean.. Oi, you're just like Gippal!"

Leije gave her an odd look. "Who's Gippal?"

"Oh, no one. Just some jerk I grew up with."

"An Al Bhed, then?"

"Mhm. He's the leader of the Machine Faction."

"You work there?" Leije inquired.

"How'd you know?" Was this guy psychic or something?

"Well, considering you're wearing a shirt with a Machine Faction symbol on it..."

Rikku grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah. Duh."

Suddenly, Rikku started to feel really antsy. As nice as this inn was, she was changing her mind about staying. She had just found Auron's son! Time to introduce her to Yuna, Tidus, Wakka... Mission time.

Rikku stood up. "Let's get going,"

The man opposite of her looked startled. "Going? Where?"

"To Djose Temple. That's where I'm staying, and then we can head off to Besaid - No, I'll tell Yunie to come to Bevelle, and we can meet there, and then you can introduce me to-"

"Slow down, girl. Since when am I going anywhere?"

"Since I said so! You have to meet Yunie!" Rikku's eyes pleaded at him to come. Leije had no intention of not going anyhow, so he pretended to give in.

"Oh, all right. Are we going now or tomorrow morning?"

"Now!"

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Oh yes, this Leije is in no way connected with the Leije from Remember to Forget. x.X Also, the song does not belong to me. I totally don't remember who wrote it or who sings it so… yeah…

Hmmm, I wasn't sure on which title to use for this. I like them all… e.e; Any suggestions on which I should use?

Unwanted Feelings

Yearning For You

Never Alone (Current one)

Empty Dreams

Mujehk Oui


	2. Chapter II

Disclaimer: Don't own shit.

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**Ahem.. Ahaha, Kid Rock... Right. I knew that.... That's what I get for borrowing a mixed CD from someone v.v  
Thankies for reviewing, and I guess I'll just stick with the title I have. For now. e.e Knowing me I'll probably change it twenty-five plus times... Is it all right so far? :S And I screwed up on the last one, for one part of it, it said 'Rikku First Person POV' but it wasn't. So whatever. I'll get around to changing it.**

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Rikku's POV

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It's been nearly a fortnight since I've met Sir Auron's son, Leije. I made my way back to Djose Temple, and why Leije accepted my offer to come, I really couldn't say. Well, yeah... It wasn't exactly an offer, more like an order - but still! Maybe he wanted to get to know me. Or maybe he doesn't have anywhere else to go. Wait... Maybe he just wants to meet the famous High Summoner. Hmmph. Well, that would be awfully rude of him, using me like that. Even though I invited him.

...Oh well.

But, I get the feeling that he's coming for a different reason. I know, I can almost sense that he's been having the same dreams. But then, why have we not spoken of it yet?

Anyhow, I got a hold of Yuna and told her that I had found someone that I'd like her to meet. Being me, I decided it should be a secret, a surprise of sorts, but maybe I should have just came out and said it. Maybe _then_ she wouldn't have postponed the meeting - a whole three weeks, too! The nerve!

I'm being selfish, though. She had her reasons. Baralai was upheld with meetings and such, he couldn't possibly schedule it any sooner. Honestly, I can't really remember why I wanted Baralai to meet him; he wasn't close to Auron, right? Ah, I'm thinking too much. Anyhow, Yunie had also preceded to tell me that she was in the final stages of her pregnancy... Her baby was scheduled to be due in exactly two weeks... Oh, _cred_.

It's two weeks now! And to think that I had spaced on the arrival of her second child. You think she'd have waited, I mean, she already has little one year old mini-Jecht running around. Pretty scary, if you ask me. Maybe I'm just not as excited as before, it being the second child and all. Or maybe we've grown apart. Just a teensy-weensy bit.

Where was I? Ah... Well, Leije wasn't upset about having to wait, which surprised me a little. He just nodded his head and went off to sign up for some work. I was thrilled - I was going to get to _work_ with him.

Have you ever believed the saying, "Love at first sight"? I used to, back when I was completely infatuated with Gippal. In fact, I don't remember ever _not _liking him. Back when we were kids, he was the sweetest thing - but as soon as his friends showed up, he'd treat me like dirt. And then - _whoosh -_ he hit puberty, and man, was that hell on me. Believe me, it's not the most pleasant feeling when you run into your crush and some chick making out in the shadows - several times. The odd thing was, all of his friends came and went. along with his assortment of girls. But the constants - the only constants in his life, mind you - were Brother, Buddy, and me. That's gotta count for something, right? But a girl can only take so much of jealousy and anger and abandonment before she goes numb to it all.

That day when I was fifteen, the day when Gippal tried his 'moves' on me, completely freaked me out. Did he think I was just another of his girls? I couldn't be that. I was one of the constant things, right? If I turned into one of _them, _eventually he would have ditched me for someone prettier, someone sexier, and then everything we had would have been destroyed. So I slapped him, yelled the nastiest words I knew at that age and told him that I'd never, ever even consider dating him - and in a much nicer tone, that I wanted to be friends.

He stopped making moves on me after that, we stayed friends, he continued to date random girls every three days - but he told people that we were going out. Figures. I should have kept the bitch tone going on.

Ugh, time to get my head out of the clouds and back in my present life.

So, Leije signed up to work at the Faction for a few weeks, and we got to know each other. At times he's got this whole I-have-no-feelings thing going on, like a chibi Sir Auron, but when you get to know him he's got the disposition of a mischievous little boy. Like Gippal, minus the flirting and the cockiness. And the sarcasm. And the- ...Okay, maybe he's not like Gippal. In that case, why am I comparing them, anyway? Why am I even thinking about Gippal?

Ah, speaking of Gippal... Apparently when he hired Leije he didn't know that I was already acquainted with him, or that he was Sir Auron's son. Wait... Why would he know that anyway? Heheh.. Sometimes Gippal can be such a dumbass...

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Flashback

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"You guys doin' all right? No problems?"

"Oh, of course not, Gipp! We're fine," Four pairs of eyes flashed their most luring, seductive looks in his direction, all while trying to look professional and efficient at their jobs. The male workers around all snorted in disgust and muttered a few 'fine's and 'all right's.

"Great, great," Gippal grinned and strutted out through the corridors. Entering one of the workrooms, he scanned to make sure everyone was present, doing their job, the usual. Then he noticed that Rikku wasn't present.

A little off, Gippal faintly wondered if she quit already. "Hey Runnet," he called out to one of the workers situated in Rikku's division.

"Gippal, nice to see you again," Runnet replied in a sweet voice, clearly remembering the previous weekend.

"Where's Rikku at?"

"Oh. Her. She was sent to check up and repair the Tacdnuoan. Who _knows _how long it'll take her to finish it; she's been preoccupied. Less focused on her work, and all. You should lower her paycheck," Runnet commented smugly.

"Preoccupied? With what?"

"Ahhm..." She flushed, quite forgetting Gippal was there. "Oh, there's this new guy. He's not Al Bhed but... wow! I wouldn't mind giving him a try," she blinked and noticed that Gippal had given her an odd look. "I mean if I wasn't already completely head over heels for _you_," She added quickly. Gippal ignored her.

He glanced around the room, looking as uninterested as humanly possible. "So, is he in this division?"

"Oh, yes. Thankfully,"

"Where's he at? I don't see anyone _new,"_

He's with Rikku fixing the Tacdnuoan. The really do make quite the team-"

"Okay, thanks. Keep working, guys," Gippal left the room without even finishing the conversation.

In one of the more solitary rooms, Gippal finally came across the Tacdnuaon and his lost workers.

Rikku kneeled down, covered in grease and tried her hardest to concentrate on the repairs. With eyes locked on the core, she yelled, "Leije, toss me that wrench, will ya?"

"Sure thing, Ri," Leije fished for the right wrench. Getting a hold on it, Leije made a motion to her - and then chucked it through the air.

Dodging her head and catching the flying piece of metal, Rikku attempted a glare. "HEY! I didn't mean literally. Sheesh,"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Lady Rikku," Leije bowed his head, looking somewhat repentant. Rikku just giggled and wiped grease all over his shirt.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," Gippal cleared his throat, making his presence known.

Rikku's attention snapped to Gippal, and Leije retreated to his usual disposition around strangers - amused, distant, and a this-has-nothing-to-do-with-me-so-I-don't-really-care sort of attitude.

"Oh, it's just _you," _Rikku gave out her playful smile.

'_What's she so happy about all of the sudden? Last time I checked she was depressed... Hey, I remember that face...'_

Who're you?" Gippal directed to Leije, who looked a little vexed by the question.

"Leije... you hired me little over a week ago."

"Oh," Gippal was a bit relieved. Why, he couldn't tell.

"Yup, yup! I convinced him to work here for a little while until Yunie and Baralai are ready to meet him." Rikku chirped in.

'_What the hell? Why do they need to meet this punk?'_

Rikku seemed to have read his mind. "Gippal, this is Leije - Sir Auron's son." She preceded to zone out, thinking of Yevon-knows-what.

"Sir who?"

That snapped her back. "Sir _Auron._ Yunie AND her pa Braska's guardian?"

"Huh. Well isn't that nice," Gippal smirked. '_So we've got a big shot here. Grrreeaaat.' _

For some reason, Gippal just didn't like him. It wasn't that he didn't trust him, or didn't believe him, or thought he was an idiot.. He just couldn't pin point it. It probably had nothing to do with him at all.

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End Flashback

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Heh, one of the rare times when Gippal was out of smart ass remarks. That certainly made _my _day. But a small part of me - okay, maybe more of a medium-sized part of me - was hoping that he'd show a small fraction of jealousy. I couldn't tell, but I guess jealousy isn't one of his faults. Besides, he has tons of women drooling over him. Who cares about me? I certainly didn't before.

But now, I can't explain why - but I'm starting to feel.. happy again. Like my old self, like I had during the Gullwings, like I had during most of Yuna's pilgrimage. I had caught the icky disease of depression and suddenly I had found my cure. A friend, a rare one that understands what it means to be lonely. To be something your not. To smile and laugh and talk every day and lead a fake, pretend life that no one but you knows about. I think it might be Leije. I can't explain why exactly, but he makes me feel like I belong.

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Normal POV

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"Ugh, finally! Work is _over!_" Rikku stumbled into the cafeteria, yawning and stretching all the while. Going through the buffet line, Rikku's eyes scanned the seats and snapped fixed on Leije's form. Skipping merrily over there, she was observed by more than a few jealous women - and Gippal.

"Ho, boy. How much longer until we get to head to Bevelle?" Rikku was getting overly anxious, and when she's anxious, well - you can just toss any hope for working right out the window.

"Don't look at me. You're the one who planned it."'

Rikku glared at the man next to her. "Another week, right?" she sunk her head into the table, a few strands of hair falling into her mashed potatoes, quite unaware why she was receiving girly giggles from the other tables. Was everyone _always _watching them?

Light bulb. Rikku's head snapped up, bits of potato flying behind her. "I've got it, Leije?"

"Err, got what?"

"We've got a whole week, and I can't possibly work under these _stressful _conditions, so... Let's go visit your mother. I really really wanna meet her, and I don't think we'll have time with Yuna and all-" Rikku was practically bouncing with joy - no, wait, she _was _bouncing. Yes, she _was _standing up and basically making a public announcement.

Leije looked a bit uncomfortable. "Well.. I.. I don't see what the big deal is. I haven't spoken with her in so long.. I don't even remember.."

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Rikku lightly punched him on the shoulder, intent on making him at least a bit happier. It didn't work. "Oh, I know, we can sneak away at night too, so that everyone will think we've _mysteriously disappeared - _and Gippal will freak out, maybe anyway, and-"

"Or we could just leave in the morning." Leije cut in.

"Yeah. Or that."


	3. Chapter III

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX or FFX-2

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**huggles reviewers Yaysh, thankies. And yes, don't worry, this will turn out to be GippalxRikku fan fic... Just wait x.X  
****  
---**

The two had been in Bevelle for over an hour now, well on their way to meet a Leije's mother. He had led her past a corner, down an alley Rikku didn't even know existed. Nervously, Rikku bounced as she walked; this didn't look like a part of Bevelle at all. Graffiti masked the walls of the alley, illegible symbols stretched across them.

Leije stopped walking, discomfort clearly etched across his features.

"What is it?" she asked him, anxiety in her voice.

"It's just... This isn't how I remember it. Everything's so unfamiliar..." He shook his head, dismissed his thoughts and continued to lead the way.

And so they continued, a quarter of an hour, until Leije stopped in front of what was once a large abode. Rikku gasped aloud, and immediately silenced herself; she couldn't help it. The building was completely burnt, crumbling and caving inside itself. Its roof was completely caved in, and the remains of it was lying on the floor of the once beautifully furnished house.

Meekly, Rikku edged through the doorway, Leije numbly following behind her. What was left of the furniture was cloaked in years worth of dust. It was as if the building had been burned down for nearly a decade.

"L-Leije?" she called out uneasily. "When was the last time you were here?"

"I don't rememb-" he was cut short from answering as Rikku clutched his arm and steadily stared ahead of her. Following Rikku's gaze, Leije noticed that amidst the rubble, he saw a middle aged Al Bhed woman. Her hair was cropped short, and her green eyes surrounded by red swollen circles. Her arms hung limp at her side; she seemed to be staring straight through them. Not once did those eyes blink.

"M-Mother?" Leije whispered, hardly trusting his own voice. This seemed to shake the woman, who gazed at her son.

"Leije, honey. You're home." She wheezed, dust spurting out as she exhaled. "It's so nice to see you again."

"Ma...?" Pyreflies swarmed around the figure ahead of him.

"She's.. she's an unsent!" Rikku shrieked, glancing at Leije. He said nothing, but you could tell from his features he was dazed.

The figure disappeared all together; Leije just blinked.

"She's gone," He looked at Rikku, desperately. But her gaze had rested somewhere else; amidst the blackened furniture was a sphere.

---

Leije had been too distraught to head back that day, so Rikku respected his wishes and they stayed at an inn, leaving the next morning.

Along the Djose Road, the two walked back in silence, contemplating what they had witnessed.

"I-I'm really sorry," Rikku finally stuttered out, destroying the uncomfortable silence.

"Don't be," he replied, mind still wandering, trying to grasp the contents of the sphere they had viewed. His mother's death. The burning of his house. The Yevon perpetrators that had destroyed his home nearly a decade ago, as soon as Auron left on the pilgrimage.

Realization dawning on Rikku, she immediately blurted out the first thing on her mind: "Your mother was Al Bhed?"

Leije shifted nervously. "Yeah. So?"

She eyed him carefully. "You don't look Al Bhed. You look like Auron... Sort of."

"Yeah, well, don't blame me; blame the gene pool."

"You _sure _that was your mother?" Leije just glared at her in response.

As they neared Djose, a few workers stared at them, and immediately yelled out in Al Bhed, heads cocked towards the Temple. Almost instantly, Gippal burst through the doors, angrily making his way towards his two workers.

"Where were you?" Gippal hissed, eyeing Rikku and ignoring the fact that Leije was with her.

"I was _gone_. Important business," Rikku flashed a smile at him, completely avoiding giving him a straight answer.

"You left without reporting to me, _and _without finishing up the Tacdnuoan. Not only did you ditch work, but you didn't come back until today. And what's _he _doing with you?" He spat out, the last part with a little more emotion than he had wanted to show.

"What's it to you?" Rikku narrowed her eyes in a playful manner, a smile still resting on her lips. "I'm sorry if I upset you. I _promise _it won't happen again."

Gippal physically relaxed. "Yeah, yeah, Cid's Girl. Just watch it, aight? Or one day you're gonna find yourself jobless."

"Ha! Yeah right, you wouldn't dare. Pops would flip on you if you fired me." Rikku stated, causing Gippal to smirk.

"Whatever you say, Cid's Girl," He left the group, presumably back to work, cocky manner back in his stride.

---

Gippal paced in his office, thoughts and emotions crowding his head that he just couldn't quite understand. Papers covered the desk, calling to be dealt with, but he just ignored them. He couldn't work his best when his mind was wandering.

He thought he was over Cid's Girl, he really did. And things had been fine; so what if Rikku wasn't in love with him? Plenty of other women were - he'd had his fill, that was for sure.

It was strange though; he was surrounded by beautiful women constantly giggling at him, anxious for him to look their way, and yet he wasn't really interested. Sure, he went out with almost every female he ran into, but it wasn't because he was attracted.

There was no way he would ever turn down a date. There was always a chance that he might click with someone - that it might be love.

Gippal cringed at that thought. Man, if someone could read his thoughts he would be so incredibly _screwed. _

To tell the truth, he had only been in love once. He had been young and stupid; he had ignored that girl, hoping that his feelings would vanish. They didn't. So one day, he acted on impulse, intent on showing this girl they way he felt. Things didn't go as well as he had hoped; she had slapped him and called him all the dirty Al Bhed names she could think of. Well, that was the last time he was going to fal in love, and the last damn time he was gonna admit it.

Rikku and Leije were friends; that was it. Nothing to worry about. But then... Why had those two run off together? And hadn't been back till the next day? What'd they do, take a little vaca at the inn and jump in the sack?

No, no, no. Rikku wouldn't do something like that. She wasn't like all of the other girls he dated. She was stronger than that. ... Right?

---

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Leije," Yuna bowed her head and extended her hand towards the dark-haired man.

Leije had been a little uneasy at the prospect of travelling back to Bevelle, but had given in when Rikku stared at him with her trademark puppy dog eyes. Rikku and Gippal had accompanied him, the latter coming to visit his "old friends" from the Crimson Squad. Personally, Leije thought he may have had a very different reason for attending to them.

Taking the High Summoner's hand, Leije was then introduced to the current headfigures of Spira: Baralai and Nooj. A spirited, blonde hair, blue eyed man was also present, presumably the High Summoner Yuna's husband. In the back near the two leaders stood a very solemn crimson-eyed woman with cropped dirty blonde hair. She had a dark look to her face, almost dripping with sarcasm.

Yuna's eyes had lit up when Rikku had formally introduced Leije as Auron's only child, and the young man Tidus grinned.

"Is that all, Rikku?" The praetor Baralai questioned the Al Bhed with a solemn look. When the girl blushed and mumbled a little 'yeah...', he smiled.

"It's been awhile since we've all been together. Thank you, Rikku, then, for calling this little gathering. What do you say we relax for a few days and catch up?" Baralai suggested.

Rikku's features instantly lit up. "Really? That'd be great!" She nudged Tidus in the stomache. "It's been awhile, eh?"

"I agree with Rikku. I think I'd like to get to know this... Leije," she smiled at him. Rikku raised an eyebrow and Leije looked away.

---

Rikku pushed herself against the brick wall, perspire dripping down her forehead. She had almost got caught that time. What would Yuna say if she saw her cousin spying on her?

The Al Bhed had a good enough reason, though; Yuna and Leije had been talking for nearly three hours now! What _were _they talking about, anyway? She couldn't hear what they were saying, maybe she should get closer-

"Cid's Girl, what in the name of Home are you up to now?"

"Aghhh!" Rikku slammed her back against the wall and screeched, causing the objects of her spying to turn towards the noise. Grabbing Gippal's arm and running away from the wall, she turned on him.

"Why'd you have to sneak up on me like that? I could have been caught!"

"Looks to me like _you _were doing the sneaking," Gippal had a suspicious look in his eyes.

"Ugh, whatever. I was just making sure Yuna doesn't get any ideas. She's married, she can't have- Oh, just leave me alone," Rikku glared at Gippal and stomped off, angry but not knowing why.

"What was that?" Yuna asked, bewildered. "Was it Rikku again?"

"Yeah, I think so. That's the third time I've seen her sneaking around."

"Better not let on that we saw her. She'll take it as an insult." Yuna giggled. "So, what were we talking about?"

"Erm... Rikku."

"Oh, yes, Rikku," Yuna mentally cursed herself for forgetting. They had spent the first hour and a half discussing Auron, and during that time Leije had pledged loyalty to her, as her father would have. The rest of the time had been dedicated to discussing... well, Rikku. Gippal had come up a few times as well, but she couldn't imagine why. And speaking of which, here it came again.

"Gippal and Rikku seem pretty close," Leije commented, hearing their voices yelling a little ways away.

"Yeah, I said that once myself. You know," Yuna lowered her voice, looking fairly mischievious, something she had surely learned from Rikku. "Gippal once told me that they had dated,"

Leije's eyes narrowed in response. '_Figures...'_

_---_

Tidus, will you please just _listen _to me?" Rikku pleaded with her friend, who just shrugged his head.

"Not if you are going to talk about Yuna again," he turned away.

"Ugh! If you'd just come with me and see them together, you'd feel the same way I do. You should just see the way she looks at him!" Rikku glared at no one in particular.

"Good Lord, Cid's Girl, will you just cut it out? Tidus is married to her! She's not going to cheat on him, so stop flipping out. Besides, why do you care so much?"

She didn't dignify Gippal with an answer; Rikku merely spun around and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. What was wrong with her, anyway? Why was she feeling... jealous?

Gippal narrowed his eye(s) as he watched Rikku's form slip out of the room. Soundlessly, he followed her out, making sure the door didn't creak as he closed it. Tidus just watched them with a blank expression and yawned. They were both crazy as far as he was concerned.

Glancing outside, sure enough, he saw Rikku in between Yuna and Leije, giggling and drawing herself closer to Leije every second. It made him sick - watching Rikku strive for the attention of another man. Why the hell does she care about him so much, anyway? What's so special about him? So what if he's Auron's son, that doesn't make him better than another man. That doesn't make Leije better than him.

'_I don't know what to do about this. You know, I don't care about her, so it doesn't matter. I need to get back to Djose and those girls, I need to forget about this shit...'_

Gippal went back inside to chat with Tidus, disgusted with the scene set before him.


	4. Chapter IV

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX-2. v.v -sobs-

---

**Hola and thank you for the wonderful superb and utterly fantastic reviews. I love reviews. Can't you tell? :) Ahaha.. Anywaysh... Uhhmm..... RIKKU AND GIPPAL FOREVER!  
****-smiles blankly at the rest of the world- Hmm, if anyone knows any really good RxG fan fiction, recommend it to me! ...Bmayca? :D  
...Eh, although I think I've read almost every single Rikku / Gippal piece of fan fiction here... That's really sad. I think it's called being obsessive. -sigh- That's okay. We can all be obsessive together. Go us.**

---

Rikku POV

---

You know, love works in strange ways. Sometimes it can be straightforward, obvious... and other times, so subtle.

Honestly, seeing Leije giving Yuna his full attention really left me feeling strange. It was the most weird thing - I kept thinking to myself, "What in Spira is wrong with me?". And I wasn't jealous! I wasn't, I wasn't, I wasn't. Tidus was right: she's married to him, and there's no way in hell she'd like him. But then, why would I care if she did? Everything's so confusing..

Down to the truth, now. If I can't be truthful with myself, then I can't be truthful to anyone. And I hate lying. I really do. So... here it goes.

I think I am in love with Leije.

So simple to say, but maybe I'm wrong? I've never been in love before. Well, once... but I was young. Impressionable. And then my heart was shattered into a billion pieces. I thought, "To hell with _love._ I'm going to enjoy my life!". And what do you know... that philosophy of mine worked pretty well for awhile.

Maybe I should ask someone for advice. Someone with experience. Someone like... Yunie. I don't want to make another mistake, I really don't. Yes, that's it. To Yunie I go!

And, while I'm there, maybe I can subtly tell her to back off Leije!

---

Yuna slowly rested her head back against her chocobo feather pillow, sighing in ecstasy. Finally, some peace and quiet! Tidus was out in the common room watching Blitzball with the guys, and she assumed Paine was probably out there too. That left her... alone; she smiled.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Who could that be now, Yuna questioned herself.

"Yunie?" A voice spoke from behind her door. "Are you awake? Can I... come in?"

"Of course, Rikku." Yuna hadn't really had a chance to speak with her lately, anyhow.

Rikku opened her door to Yuna's guest room, smiling slightly, but a somewhat worried expression plastered on her usually cheerful face.

"What's wrong, Rikku? Here, sit."

Rikku did as she was told, sitting next to her on the mattress. "Yunie, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"How do you know when you're in love?"

---

"Go, go, go! Pass it to the left, the LEFT!"

"C'mon, C'mon... AWWW!"

"In the name of Yevon, what was he thinking?" Baralai slapped his hand on his knee, rising from his position on the couch angrily.

Seeing Paine raise her eyebrow, Baralai muttered a few incoherent words and sat back down, grabbing a few chips.

"It's one to three now, man. The Aurochs are going to lose _again._" Tidus snorted and shook his head. "I should be there; I'm on the team now."

"Hey, the Al Bhed Psyches just kick ass, there's nothing to it." Leije grinned.

"Shhhhh!" Baralai and Tidus shouted simultaneously. "The game's startin' again."

"Where's Gippal?" Paine cut in, receiving a few glares from the guys. "Well, where is he? Don't give me that look, Baralai. It doesn't suit you."

Blushing, Baralai murmured, "He's at the bar, in the next room. Been there for the last few hours, actually..."

Leije's attention broke from the game. "Really?" He rose an eyebrow. "I took him for a flirt, not a drunk."

"He's not like that, Leije. In fact, I'm just going to go check on him. Okay?"

"That'd be a good idea, Baralai," Paine faintly smiled. Hastily rising, the praetor strode towards his bar.

Gippal sat on a stool, eyes bleary and downing his seventh glass of Ochu Vodka. "Another, man. Keep 'em comin'.." Gippal mumbled. The barkeeper already had the next three glasses ready; he seemed prepared enough.

"Gippal?" Baralai cautiously took a seat next to his old friend.

"Bara..?"

"Gip, maybe you should stop drinking for little bit, and come out here with the rest of us. This game's going good, the Al Bhed Psyches are winning..."

"Vilg uvv," Gippal took a long gulp of his drink, draining half of the glass. ("Fuck off")

"..Or maybe you should just go rest for a little while." Baralai added, understanding part of what he had said.

"E cyet vilg uvv, 'Lai. Zicd mayja sa dra ramm ymuha yht ku 'Bnyeca Yevon' un frydajan dra ramm ed ec oui Yevonites tu... Uhhhmm..." He hiccuped. "Can't you leave a man alone when he's drinking?" ("I said fuck off, 'Lai. Just leave me the hell alone and go 'Praise Yevon!' or whatever the hell it is you Yevonites do...")

Baralai didn't catch everything out of Gippal's mouth, but he correctly translated the words "fuck" and "Yevon". Maybe it was time for him to be going.

"Uh, okay then, I'm just gonna... go...now," Baralai rather quickly rose from his seat and stumbled out of the bar, leaving Gippal alone with his drinks and the barkeeper.

---

"So _that's _why you were acting all antsy before. Rikku, we were just talking; you needed to chill out."

"I know, I know. Sorry Yunie," Rikku sighed. "But do you think it is?"

"Well... I'm not really sure. Things take time to develop. And honestly, I really couldn't tell you if you're in love. You have to find that out for yourself."

"Ugh, well thanks for the insight, cous'," Rikku rolled her eyes.

Her cousin's bicolored eyes narrowed mischievously. "Rikku, you'd know if it was really love. Besides, you seem really unsure, and a little distracted. Tell me, what are you thinking about right now?"

"Well, it's just that... I mean, I think, it's not the same as before, when I only had eyes for Gip- Oh, never mind!"

Yunie's eyes widened. "You still like Gippal?"

"No! No way. Never, nuh-uh. That two-timing _jerk! _That stupid, idiotic sayhea! ...Well, okay, maybe a little. But it's really innocent, and it's just taking time to wear off. I really think that Leije can make it all go away. Yuna, I'm tired of being infatuated with someone who has slept with half of the Machine Faction."

Yuna's eyes got even _wider._ "Rikku, you don't know that. You shouldn't assume things-"

"Well, he's dated half of them, so who's to say it's wrong to assume anymore?" Rikku countered angrily.

"Calm down, Ri. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were _jealous. _And I'm not talking about Leije."

"Urgh... Tea!" Rikku chucked a pillow at her cousin, who wasn't quite quick enough to dodge it. ("Die!")

Hurling the pillow back at Rikku, she retorted, "I may just have to tell your darling Gippal about that little slip of the tongue if you keep physically abusing me, _Ri._" She stuck out her tongue and dashed out of the room.

"_Yunie! Oui kat pylg rana nekrd huf!"_ Rikku pounced off the bed and right after her, slamming the door as she exited. ("You get back here right now!")

Yuna rushed into the common room, interrupting the Blitzball game, with Rikku crashing into her as soon as she stopped. The two toppled in front of the sphere screen, causing a fuss with the rest of the guys.

"_Move!" _Tidus nearly screamed, but caught himself and changed his tone so he didn't sound _too _insane.

"Here, let me help you up, Rikku," Leije rose and grabbed Rikku's hand. She instantly forgot about her play quarrel with Yuna, who would never have dreamt of telling Gippal anyhow. That was _so _un-Yunie-like, you know?

"Eheheh.. Eheh... Whatcha watchin'?" Rikku gave him a confused smile.

"Uh... Blitzball," He gave her a quizzical look in return.

Going unnoticed by everyone including Tidus, whose eyes were totally glued to the screen, Yuna edged towards Baralai.

"Where's Gippal?" she whispered.

"In the bar. Drinking. I would refrain from talking to him, if I were you. He's not exactly in a _civil mood._"

"I'll be fine," Yuna gave one of her reassuring smiles and pranced towards the direction of the bar.

As Yuna walked in, she immediately located Gippal, who was still sitting at the same stool when Baralai visited him an hour ago. Baralai hadn't lied; Gippal _had _been drinking, and she really didn't even want to attempt to count the number of glasses.

"Gippal?" Yuna came up beside him, her voice meek. The Machine Faction leader didn't seem to here her; he continued to stare intently at the liquid in his glass, deep in thought. Or as deep in thought as he could get considering the circumstances.

"Gippal?" She repeated, a little more earnestly this time around. He looked at her, hazy eyes staring up at her curiously. Gippal rose from the stool, wavering unsteadily. After a moment of catching his balance, he glanced down at her. "Ri..Ri..Rikku?"

"Uhhhm..." Yuna swiftly rose from her stool as well and started edging away from him, back towards the door. "I'm not Rikku."

Gippal was on her in a flash, desperation evident in his face. "Bmayca, tuh'd ku.." he murmured, pinning her against the wall. Leaning towards her with open lips, Yuna distinctly recognized the scent of alcohol. ("Please, don't go..")

"Gippal, _stop._" Yuna ducked and slipped through his arms. "You're drunk," she hissed, as if everything would suddenly become clear to him.

It didn't.

"Hu... Rikku... Bmayca tuh'd mayja!" Gippal crumpled in a heap to the ground, sobbing quietly. As compassionate as the great High Summoner Yuna was, she had no idea how to deal with this situation, no idea how to comfort him, and no idea why on earth he thought she was Rikku.

Yuna dashed towards the door, yanked it open and slammed it shut. As she reentered the common room, Baralai and Rikku stared at her curiously while the others continued watching their never ending games of Blitz ball.

"Is something wrong, Yunie?"

"No... It's nothing," She lied, wondering if she should tell Rikku.

---

Gippal groaned, rolling onto his side. His head pounded, his body ached - where _was _he? Snapping his eyes open, Gippal noticed that he was in the bar, lying on the ground. No wonder his body was aching, he must have passed out. Moaning loudly, he reluctantly braced himself against the wall and stood up.

"Good, you're awake," Baralai entered the bar, right on key. "I thought I'd let you sleep on the floor. Maybe next time you'll watch how much you drink." He glared at his friend, who merely groaned even louder.

"You could have woken me up..." Gippal mirrored his friend's disappointed look. "Besides, I didn't drink that much. In fact, I don't really remember drinking at all." _Whoops._

"Gippal, that proves my point exactly. You might as well shut up while you're ahead," pausing, Baralai added, "Oh, and Cid called earlier this morning. He wanted to talk to you; couldn't imagine why."

Gippal grinned ear to ear. Just the person he wanted to talk to. Wouldn't _he _like to know that is little girl, the future Al Bhed leader, fancied someone who wasn't Al Bhed.

---

**Tea. The drink of death? o.o  
Oh yesh, and in case I forgot to mention it before, please review. XD  
****I was just curious on your opinions... Is it going okay so far?  
Should I continue? I mean I'll probably continue even if you all tell me that it sucks, but yeah... I'd still like to know. (Wouldn't we all x.X)  
**


	5. Chapter V

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X-2 or X.  
**

* * *

**I'll try and put more Leije/Rikku interaction in.:) And don't worry, there will be a lot more Gippal/Rikku later. As in, not yet... Yeah, you know what I mean v.v**

* * *

Gippal leaned back in the recliner, rubbing his head continuously, in hopes of making the migraine disappear. Not working. 

'_No matter. Time to make that 'important' CommSphere call to a very mischievous man._' Gippal thought, mischievous and grim at the same time.

Just as he was reaching out for the CommSphere, he heard a very familiar voice humming a song outside of his door.

'_Great, just what I needed to have: Cid's girl eavesdropping while I'm speaking with her dad_.'

Gippal instinctively held his breathe until the humming got a little farther. It didn't get that far, unfortunately; Rikku must have stopped at the room next to his own. Which, in turn, was Leije's.

'_This has got to stop,' _Gippal thought, faintly annoyed. It was one thing to have random girls all over _him_, he was famous, after all. But this Leije wasn't; he just sort of appeared, no connections whatsoever, save for being Sir Auron's son. And what, after a month or so, Rikku is suddenly up in his room? Not cool.

Gippal connected with Cid's line, who immediately picked up. A grin was plastered on his face, which slowly faded when he saw Gippal on the other side.

"Hey, Cid. How you doin'?" Gippal started, casually enough.

Cid's features remained about the same. "Pleasant surprise, Gip. How's the Faction comin' along?"

"Eh, pretty good, last time I checked."

The older man's face wore a confused expression. Last time he.. checked? Didn't he, uh, work there? "Is there something you need?"

"Huh? No? I just thought it'd be nice to chat. You know, a man-to-man sort of thing." Gippal flashed a grin, an I'm-not-up-to-anything-old-timer sort of grin.

"I see." Cid eyed him, not sure of what to make of his 'grin'. "I take it you're not at the Faction right now, then?"

"Naw, we're havin' a meeting out in Bevelle."

"Oh." Cid paused. "My little girl _is _out there with you then, right?"

"Uh... Yeah." Gippal rose an eyebrow. '_It was kind of her idea to come here in the first place,' _he thought, but didn't say out loud.

The older man looked serious. "Good. You promised me you'd take care of her. If anything happened to my little desert angel-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. She's going to be the next Al Bhed 'leader', right?"

Cid gave a hearty laugh. "The wife of the leader, you mean."

"Huh, is that so. Gonna arrange a marriage any time soon, old timer?" Gippal asked casually, attempting to look as disinterested as possible.

"I'll get around to it eventually. I'll 'probly announce it when I'm sittin' in my death bed," He gave another laugh, which eventually ended in a '_hearty_' cough.

"Heheh, ehm..." Gippal cleared his throat. "Yeah, I wonder how Rikku will end up takin' the news when the time comes. It would be just like her, to refuse, you know, just to make your blood boil."

Cid frowned into the sphere. "My little girl listens to everything her daddy tells her. She wouldn't do that." His chest swelled.

"She would if she thought she was in love," Gippal quietly taunted, getting an immediate reaction from Cid.

"Wha'd you say, boy?"

"Nothin'," Gippal widened his eyes in an attempt to appear innocent.

"You sayin' my baby's in love? With who?"

"I didn't say anything! But, it'd be a little awkward if she fell for someone that wasn't Al Bhed."

"That won't happen. A non-Al Bhed can't lead the Al Bhed people; it's preposterous. It wouldn't even be possible-"

"Y'took the words right outta my mouth, old man." Gippal cut in.

Ignoring him, Cid continued. "A disgrace to the Al Bhed race-"

Cutting in again, this time a little more uncomfortable, Gippal chimed in, "Yeah, uh, so I take it you wouldn't approve of your only daughter being with someone that wasn't-"

"Of course not, boy!" Cid's veins were popping out at this point. "Have you lost your head? That would-"

Gippal faintly grinned, and hid it quickly. "Heh. Well, uh, I have to go. Talk to you later, old man." He shut off the sphere, not interested in hearing Cid's continuous ranting.

'_Just relax now, Gippal. That guy doesn't have a chance, if he so much as touched Rikku, Cid would chew him up and spit him out in under a minute. Even if he happened to be part Al Bhed... Well, it wouldn't matter. You can't have a 'part' Al Bhed leader. What is Rikku even thinking? After all, I'm way more easy on the eyes than him, so why- What if she doesn't listen to Cid? And runs off with _him?'

_'Wait. Why am I thinking about Rikku at all?' _Gippal paused, stopping his train of thought for a minute.

_'Oh, shit.' _

* * *

Bored beyond belief, Rikku aimlessly wandered the halls of Bevelle's guest quarters. Leije had gone out for some alone time, Gippal had decided to just randomly disappear, and everyone else was watching - you guessed it - Blitzball on the Sphere Screen. Really now, what was it with Spirans and Blitzball? Rikku enjoyed it as well; _playing_ it, that is. She could only watch it for so long before her attention was lost (her having the attention span equivalent to that of a seven year old's, and all).

Humming the Gullwing's theme song, she glanced at each of the doors she passed. Paine's room. Yunie's. Gippal's. (Her eyes' lingered longer on this door; she involuntarily listened to see if he was in there; sadly enough, all was silent.) Leije's. Wait - was it open just a crack? How careless of him.

'Well, I'll just close it for him,' Rikku thought to herself, not a single dishonest thought running through her head. At least, not yet. When she actually reached the door, hand grasping the door knob, she was having second thoughts. Now that she thought about it, she didn't really know anything about this man. And she had told Yunie that she loved him? Auron's son or not, she'd like to know a little more about him before she accidentally proclaimed true love in front of her friends.

Yes, it was her _right_ to look through his things. What was he interested in, anyway? In the name of Home, she didn't even know his favorite color. Or his birthday, for that matter! Yes, just a quick peek would be all right. No one would have to know...

The door creaked as she opened it to a width she could fit through; the noise went unnoticed since no one was around to hear it. Once inside, she took a good look around the room. Unlike her own, which was decked in stuffed animals, machina toys, and clothes strewn about the room, his was devoid of any personality. Yeah, that was to be expected; it was a guest room after all. But Yunie's was decorated, and her's was... Surely someone else would have taken the time to personalize their room too?

'_Guess not,_' Rikku thought glumly to herself. There went her chance of learning more about Leije.

A few papers cluttered his desk, a few pieces of cloth stuck out from his drawers. Rummaging through the paperwork, Rikku came across a number of burnt pictures, most featuring a young looking Auron, the Al Bhed woman who Leije claimed to be his mother, and a scrawny boy with a mop of dark brown hair.

Picking up a rather large looking document, Rikku skimmed through the first page. And the next. The one after that.

They were all different articles on Sir Auron, all written under different circumstances in different years.

"Wow, this kid's done his research."

Her hand hit something round. A very familiar texture, if not a bit worn down. A sphere.

"_Finally,_ something interesting. Wonder what's on it?" Rikku spoke out loud, to no one in particular. Turning it on, the Al Bhed stared intently at the screen.

Blank. Then, static. Slowly, the screen cleared enough to make out the shape of a woman. The background and foreground were dark, misplaced items seemed to be scattered around the room. Squinting, Rikku managed to make out that the woman was Leije's mother.

Two other men entered the scene, recognizable enough: Yevonites. One of them was carrying a rather heavy looking club.

'_Yevonite plus club equals _not _good,' _Rikku thought as the man swung at Leije's mother; a loud crunch was heard as it hit her torso, and the woman crumpled to the ground. The two men started screaming; Rikku couldn't make out every word said, but what she heard was enough.

'_..Dare live amongst Yevonites.. think you're worthy?'_

_'..like an equal?'_

_'..Sir Auron can do much better than this..'_

_'..Al Bhed _scum..'

A small boy edged his way into the sphere's view; small, dark hair... 'Ahhh,' Rikku thought. 'The boy from the picture.'

The two Yevonites noticed him a split second after Rikku. The club-wielding man swung, aiming for his head. A loud crack was heard as the club came in contact with the little boy's neck. He fell limp, body slamming against the ground, face turned towards the sphere. Blood was gushing from beneath his chin; the little boy didn't appear to be breathing.

A new man entered, grasping - what was it? A torch? Rikku gasped as the man bent down and lit the _woman - _Leije's _mother_ - on fire. Giggling like a madman, threw the torch at the floor, letting it catch fire to the furniture. The men prepared to depart, priding themselves and their accomplishment.

She could still hear the Yevonite's distant laughter as the screen went blank. Outside of the room, Rikku heard movement.

'_Cred. Time to 'shakey-shakey' my way outta here, eh?'

* * *

_

Comfortably seated on a sofa, Baralai frowned as he watched Gippal pace back and forth in the common room. He sensed that something was bothering his old friend; probably the same thing that caused him to drink away that one night.

"Is there something wrong, Gippal?" Baralai finally got the courage to ask up. His normal political mask was gone; 'Lai's voice was filled with concern. "You seem to have been a little out of it as of late. And the drinking-" Baralai was cut off as Gippal started chuckling lightly to himself, back facing him.

"Heh. Well, aren't you the perceptive one, Baralai."

Baralai shook his head. "Look, if you need to get something off of your chest, I'm here. It must be serious; keep it in much longer and you'll end up running around like a chicken with its head cut off."

Gippal glared at his friend. "Me? Loose my cool? Like hell."

The white haired praetor just sighed. "Fine, don't spill it." He shifted in his seat and reached for the Sphere Screen Controller."

"...It's about Rikku," Gippal said quietly.

"I knew it!" Baralai hissed, eyes wide with interest.

"You knew? What the hell?"

"I mean, uh..." Baralai stuttered. Gippal just folded his harms across his chest and rose an eyebrow.

"Just continue. I'm all ears." Baralai urged him on.

"Continue?" Gippal looked exasperated. "I told you already! Whew, what a load off." He let out a dramatic, content sigh of relief.

"Yevon, Gippal!" 'Lai threw up his hands. "What _about_ Rikku?"

His Al Bhed friend stared at the wall opposite to him. "She's driving me insane. And it's _really_ starting to piss me off."

Baralai stifled a laugh. "And how has she managed this?"

Gippal sat down on the sofa, resting his elbows on the table, head in his hands. "She won't get out of my head!"

"Uh... What?"

The one-eyed Faction leader glared at 'Lai. "I _said, _I can't stop thinking about her."

Baralai finally let his laughter tumble out. "That's _it?"_ He asked incredulously.

Gippal immediately stood up, anger etched across his face. "What do you mean, '_That's it'_?"

Baralai quickly regained his composure. "Well, I-I just thought it would be something, you know - important."

Gippal nearly snorted. "Important? Since when is my sanity not _important?"_

Gippal, _chill out._"

"Alright, alright..." Gippal ran his hand through his fine blonde hair and took a seat. "But... It's just - I don't want to see her get hurt. And I really don't like the way that Leije guy looks at her-"

"What are you talking about?" Baralai interrupted. "Leije is a very amiable person, not at all a-" He stopped and looked at Gippal in an odd way. "I do believe you're jealous!"

"_Fryd? _Bullshit!"

Baralai ignored him and continued, well, basically laughing his ass off, occasionally snorting. Not very praetor-like. "_Right. _Whatever you say."

"That is _so_ far from the truth; I'm not even going to dignify it with a response."

Pause.

"I have almost every female Al Bhed _drooling _over me, why would I care about who Cid's girl is in love with?"

Baralai gave him that 'I-know-all-of-your-secrets'kind of look. "Don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

"...Screw you, Baralai." Gippal sneered, rising from the sofa and heading towards the bar. He could hear Baralai's laughter even as he slammed the door shut behind him.

* * *

**Review please -puppy dog eyes-**


	6. Chapter VI

**Disclaimer: Nope, sorry, I don't own anything. Except my cat, Moon Kitty. And really, don't ask where I got that name... It's a long story... (Actually, it's not, but still - don't ask.)**

**Yaaaay! Update-ish-ness...-ish...osity. o.o -does her happy dance-  
And thankies for the reviews, I love reviews, it's why most of us _actually post_ our crap on here. Isn't that sad? A billion and one fans that have stacks of stories sitting on their desks rotting away when they randomly run into this website. It's like, God has finally given us a reason to live.  
Okay, maybe that's a little too dramatic. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Tidus strode down the corridors, loitering at each of the guest room doors for no apparent reason. Basically, he was really _really_ bored. He didn't feel like hanging out with his wife, Yuna - she was currently in her 'Punish Men Severely' stage, and he wasn't in the mood to play the part of the meek, apologizing husband. Gippal was weird, Rikku was Yevon-knows-where, and Paine glared daggers at him whenever he came within a five foot radius of her, so what was there to do? 

Bother Baralai, of course.

Walking, humming, and occasionally tripping, Tidus makes his way towards Baralai's Chamber. Making a fist, Tidus prepared to give a loud knock to the tune of 'The Hymn of the Fayth', when Baralai's shout was heard through the walls.

"...What _about _Rikku?"

'_Huh?'_ Tidus was lost, wondering who Baralai was talking to and why Rikku was at the center of their discussion.

There were muffled voices coming from the room, but he couldn't catch any of the words clearly. Then, Tidus heard - Gippal's voice- say, "...She won't get out of my head!"

It took Tidus a few seconds to work this into the equation. '_Rikku ... in ... Gippal's... head?'_

More incomprehensible mumbling from Baralai's Chambers. Finally, he heard Gippal mumble, "...-that Leije guy looks at her-.."

More mumbling. Then,

"...I do believe you're jealous!..."

"...Bullshit!.."

Hooo, boy. This wasn't turning out good. There was a pause in the conversation, and suddenly he heard steps. Coming in his direction.

'Ahhh, what-the-heck-am-I-gonna-do?' Tidus thought desperately, eyes flicking back and forth between Baralai's door and the direction he had come from before. After a few elongated seconds, Tidus decided the best course of action would be to run.

And so he did. Turning from his friend's door, he dashed like a madman down the hall and back to the common room.

Unfortunately, being Tidus, after about ten steps he tripped over the rug, landing in front of the door to the bar. Hands fumbling to push his body back up, Tidus flinched as he realized Gippal had just slammed shut the door to Baralai's Chambers. Frantically, Tidus racked his mind for any more ideas, any more plans of action as to how he'd get himself out of this mess.

There was one. Tidus let his hands fall to the floor, plopped his head on the ground and decided to play dead.

Gippal's boots left loud, echoing '_Stomp-Stomp-Crunch'_s as he angrily strode towards Tidus's limp body. A look of confusion crossed over his face as he stared dumbfoundingly at the blonde.

"What the.." Gippal paused in mid-sentence and gave Tidus a nice, hearty kick in the stomach.

"Oooomph! Uggh..." Tidus moaned, but still managed to keep his eyes snapped tightly shut.

"Well, at least he's alive." Gippal thought aloud. "Maybe he's asleep?"

'_Yes, yes! I'm asleep, Gippal. Asleeeeeep...' _Tidus silently told Gippal, hoping that his Al Bhed acquaintance was psychic.

Just in case Gippal was starting to have doubts about him being asleep, Tidus gave a loud, echoing snore, and moaned"Yuuunaa... I ... luuuuve youuuu..."

Gippal gave the 'sleeping' man a very demeaning glare and snorted, "Idiot." The Al Bhed stepped over Tidus, gave him one last good kick, and stormed straight into his current favorite room, the bar.

When Tidus was completely sure that Gippal was, in fact, _not _coming back out, he sat up and leaned against the wall, contemplating what he had just witnessed.

He was a fairly smart man; he could figure _this _out, right? Right.

'_Let's see. We've got, uh, Rikku in Gippal's head, Gippal jealous of... who was Gippal jealous of? Baralai? No, it wasn't Baralai.. Oh yeah. Leije._

_But then, why would Gippal be jealous of Leije?'_

There was a pause in Tidus's in-depth thinking.

Then, a light bulb went off in the young man's head.

"Oh. My. God. . . Yuna!"

-

Yuna sat comfortably sprawled across the cushions of her couch, twirling her braid with her fingers and letting her mind wander, when Tidus burst through her door. Glaring at her husband for wrecking the serene atmosphere, she sighed, "What..?"

"It's..He- Rikku.." Tidus gasped, wresting his hands on his knees. Those twenty steps had _really_ taken a lot out of him. And why was he here again, anyway? Wasn't he avoiding Yuna? Huh.

"What is it, Tidus?" Yuna stretched and straightened her back. "What did you say about Rikku?"

Oh yeah! Rikku.

Tidus took a breath and let a smirk encompass his features. "_Gippal has the hots for Rikku!"_

Yuna blinked at him. "...What..?"

"I said-"

"I know what you _said," _Yuna snapped at him. "I mean, where did you get that idea, and why did you run in here to tell _me?_"

"Gippal - I heard him say it!"

Yuna's eyes widened. "Wha - w-_what?"_

"Gippal - I hea-"

"_Okay - TIDUS! _I got it." Yuna ran a hand through her bangs and, lifting herself up from the couch, headed towards the door.

"Where are you goin'?" Tidus asked, blinking, as if he had no idea why his wife was suddenly upset.

"I'm just going to talk with Rikku, okay?" She left, almost slamming the door, and at the last second softly closing it.

Tidus stood there for a few minutes, not sure what he should do. Tidus _did_ here Gippal say that - right? Well, at least he _thought _he heard Gippal say something about liking Rikku. And that was close enough, right?

But now what was he going to do... Rikku and Yuna were talking, Gippal was drinking, Paine was being.. Paine... Oh! He could go bother _Baralai!

* * *

Yuna had had one hell of a headache. Her ears were ringing and she felt incredibly __sick._ During all of this, what does Tidus decide to do? He comes bursting into their Chambers, jumping and screaming directly in Yuna's ear. That was the last thing she needed - the first being somewhere nice, peaceful and _really _quiet. 

Yuna had had one hell of a headache. Her ears were ringing and she felt incredibly During all of this, what does Tidus decide to do? He comes bursting into their Chambers, jumping and screaming directly in Yuna's ear. That was the last thing she needed - the first being somewhere nice, peaceful and quiet. 

Maybe what she needed was a break; she could head out into Bevelle Temple's 'backyard' garden and sit there for a few hours. Maybe four, or five - hell, the rest of the day. Yeah, she _knew_ it was awfully rude of her to tell Tidus she was going to talk to Rikku. It was lying, after all - and that's not something Yuna does willingly. With that on her mind, maybe when she's on her way back she'd have a small chat with Rikku. Just to clear her conscience. But honestly, Yuna really did need a break from it all; some time alone and to get rid of that damn migraine.

'_I sound absolutely awful, now that I think about it_,' Yuna thought regretfully to herself. She wasn't taking Tidus for granted - honest. She would probably die if he disappeared again, but she really wasn't in one of her best moods today.

Wandering outside, Yuna somewhat happily made her way to the garden, even if there was a slight hint of agitation in her step.

Beautiful maroon, bright yellow, and eccentric orange flowers and roses were in bloom over the entire premises of the garden. Hundreds of ferns flocked around the dirt path and the grass was healthy and flourishing. Taking a deep, content breath, Yuna took a turn off of the path, intent on finding a spot more private and relaxing. Coming up to a few broadleaf trees planted close together, the young former Summoner headed towards a small spring.

Just as she was prepared to let out a content sigh, Yuna heard a voice. Or maybe it was more than one - she listened - yep, two voices. Rikku and Leije.

'_Spy time or what?'_ Yuna thought roguishly, her pessimistic mood leaving temporarily.

* * *

Leije leaned against the railing an antique looking bridge, gazing out into the clear flowing water of the spring. There was a pensive and contemplative look plastered on his face as he stared; eyes searching for something, but unclear on their target. 

Unbeknownst to him, Rikku was lurking around behind him, attempting to noiselessly cross the bridge and surprise him.

As she approached him a few feet away, Leije nonchalantly mumbled, "Hey, Rikku."

"Awwww!" The bubbly Al Bhed came into full view, giggling absurdly loud. "How'd you know that I was here?" She whined.

Not even glancing in her direction, Leije stated, "I'm psychic." There was no sarcasm or humor in his voice, even though he was, of course, joking.

Rikku gave him a curious look and shrieked, "You are so _weird!_" She gave a dramatic grown as she stood next to him and copied his pose; Rikku leaned against the railing with her elbows, a mere foot away from Leije.

A comfortable silence passed between the two.

Then, Rikku broke it by asking, "What are ya doin' out here?"

"...Thinking," Leije replied after a moment of spacing out.

There was more silence.

"What are ya thinkin' about, then?"

"..Nothing." Leije paused, looking extremely agitated. "..It's nothing."

Rikku glanced at him, not worried about him noticing. Leije seemed so distant. Like he was a thousand leagues away, even though in reality he was only a couple feet away from her. Even so, the atmosphere - the aura - around him seemed wrong. It was silently screaming to Rikku, '_Get away - run while you can_,' but at the same time it was beckoning her forward. The right kind of wrong, you know? Or was it the wrong kind of right...

Remembering something from the sphere she had viewed, a new group of thoughts entered her head. Who was that little boy in the sphere?

"Leije?" Rikku called out meekly, causing him to break away from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"You don't happen to have any.. siblings, do you? Maybe a brother?" Rikku questioned, doing her best to look interested, but not _too_ interested.

"No. I wish I had... I was an only child."

"Any friends..? Cousins, maybe?"

Leije gave her an odd look, and raised an eyebrow, as if to say, '_No - what a stupid question'_.

Blushing slightly, Rikku tore her gaze away from his. Usually he was really nice and funny but right now he was just... Arrr, he was just being a meanie!

Oh well. Everyone has little personality slips, right?

"Well, you have friends now, right? And someday you'll have family again, too." Rikku smiled up at him, lightly pinching his arm, but in the end, holding on to it.

"Rikku?"

"Huh?" She blinked and looked up, clearly startled out of her 'this is true love and I am a fairy princess' fantasy.

Gazing into her bright, green eyes, Leije tentatively bent down his neck and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

* * *

**Anyone here read 'TTYL'? I worship that book. That and 'Odd Thomas'. Oh, next chapter is my favorite! YAY! Wootnessosity for RikkuGippalness!  
And again, if anyone notices any, I mean ANY grammatical errors, could you tell me? 'Cause I can be a grammar nazi sometimes and it kills me to let anything slip. So don't worry, you wouldn't be rude in saying so. In fact, I'm _ordering_ you to:O  
Oh yeah, another really weird thing that happened - when I uploaded this to the doc manager, the editor went all freaky on me and took out all of the commas and question marks, ect. in dialogue. Like it said "Rikku" instead of "Rikku?". It really pissed me off; I'm thinking that is what happened to some of the other people who posted - they aren't as bad with grammar as they may seem to be. (Sum of 'em, that is)**

**Thankies for reading and REVIEW PLEASE-nudge, nudge, wink, wink-**


	7. Chapter VII

**Disclaimer: I do not own FFX-2 or FFX. Umm, yeah O.O**

Thankya thankya THANKYA! For the reviews, it means a bunch to me. -anime hearts- And yeah...  
Has anyone ever played Dark Ages? o.o **-is an ex-player-** Every time I see a shooting star, I wish that Nexon would go bankrupt... -sighs dreamily-

* * *

Yuna's bicolored eyes widened as the two kissed, and her muscles tensed as she tried to not burst out in fits of giggling. Clutching her bloated stomach, Yuna was silently laughing when a sharp kick brought her back to her senses. Ouch. It wouldn't be good to go into labor right here and get caught...

"Time to head back," Yuna muttered to herself. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She should be resting, or better yet, making sure Tidus doesn't drive any of her friends crazy. Okay, this was _never_ a good idea. But - _Oh! _Leije and Rikku. Rikku and Leije. Mrs. Leije. She should have guessed before when she had that little discussion with Rikku.

'I_ wonder what kind of wedding dress she'll pick out? And - oh, would it be an Al Bhed sort of wedding, or maybe a traditional Yevon-style, since Leije - Okay, maybe I'm getting just a _little_ ahead of myself here. Oh well, I guess I'll just go back a few steps - matchmaking it is, then.'_

Happily following the path back to the Guest Quarters, Yuna was humming a little tune when she remembered something Tidus had said. About Gippal. Now, Yuna was usually very mild, meek, and overall amiable, but you have to pardon her - she was fast approaching the birth of her second child and a bit moody.

"That - that - I won't let him ruin Rikku and Leije's future relationship!" Yuna seethed out, to no one in particular. (Okay, maybe more than a bit moody.) Destination set, Yuna sprinted - or rather, hobbled - off to find Gippal and have a nice, friendly little _chat. _Of course, she had no real basis for confronting him, save Tidus's statement, but hey - who needs proof?

"Oh, Mr. Gippers, _where are you?_"

* * *

Everything was nice and serene and comfortable when Leije looked at her, called out her name, and _kissed_ her. Just like a snap of the fingers, their relationship went from friends to something more.

At first Rikku was shocked - after a moment the shock was replaced with surprise, and then confusion. Instead of being filled with love and happiness, they were filled with regret and hurt - her thoughts had instantly turned to Gippal. Rikku had always wished she had shared a moment like this with him, but apparently she wasn't his type. Mentally scolding herself, she inwardly told herself to forget about him, screw him, may he go to the farplanes and beyond!

With this thought guiding her, she responded to his kiss, causing him to wrap an arm around her. After a moment Rikku broke away and smiled up at him. They sat in yet another comfortable silence.

She _would _forget him.

* * *

One, two, three more steps... Aha! Yuna had reached the bar. And really, where else would he have been?

Knock. Knock. Kno- wait, why was she knocking? It wasn't his room, but he was in it so much - Oh, forget it. Yuna clutched the handle of the door and walked in.

Yep, there was Gippal, sitting there - as usual. But he wasn't drinking - he was writing. Yuna blinked.

"Gippal?" Yuna said meekly, creeping into the room.

Startled, Gippal hurled himself from the stool onto the tiled floor, landing on his feet, clutching his notepad like a little girl would her doll. "Whoa... Hey, Yuna. What do ya want?"

She gave him an odd look. "Why are you writing in here?"

"Uhh.. Well, I thought this would be a nice, uh, private place. Comfortable," he finished lamely.

Yuna raised an eyebrow. "So what, your room wasn't private or comfortable enough?"

"Nope."

"Oh."

Silence.

Gippal had the nerve to break the silence first, genuinely curious. "Why're you _here?"_

Oh, no reason. It's just that... Well, back at Djose, do you happen to have a... love interest?"

Gippal stared at her. "You mean a girlfriend?"

"Umm, sure."

The Machine Faction leader scratched the back of his head. "A few," he answered carefully, eyeing her.

Yuna's own eyes widened, and relief washed over her delicate features. "Oh! So you wouldn't have any interest in Rikku then?"

"_No! _Why would I have 'interest' in Cid's girl? I prefer _mature_ women, if you catch my drift," Gippal's eyes refused to make contact with Yuna's. He blankly stared at the floor, face revealing no emotions.

"Oh. That's too bad," Yuna responded cheerfully. "Well, I'll just be going, then." After taking a few steps, the former High Summoner stopped in her tracks. "Wait," she glanced back at Gippal, who hadn't moved and wasn't planning to. "Rikku works for you, right? And so does Leije?"

Gippal finally met her eyes and gave Yuna a curious look. "Yeah?"

"And you're their boss? Both of them?"

"..Yeah. So what?"

Yuna's face glowed with happiness. It looked like she wouldn't have to play matchmaker alone - that is, if Gippal would help her. Besides, he had more experience with this whole... _dating_ thing than she did.

You've got to help me, Gippal," Yuna smiled, temporarily forgetting to actually ask the question.

Gippal blinked back at her. "Help...wait, what?"

"Oh, yes. Help me get Rikku and Leije, you know..." She gave him the best secretive look that she could manage. Gippal didn't catch on.

"Get them _together. _You know, a couple?" Yuna intertwined two of her fingers and held them up in front of Gippal's face.

A shock look encompassed his features, soon replaced with narrowed eyes and a wary look.

"Don't look at me that way, Gippal. There is something between them, and you know it. Besides," she lowered her voice and added, "I saw them kiss."

"_You saw them what?"_ Gippal seethed, clenching his teeth and tensing his muscled.

"It was so romantic. But - oh- Promise you won't tell Rikku? She'd really nail me if she knew I saw... I shouldn't have told you..."

"_That bastard _kissed _her?" _Gippal continued, ignoring Yuna entirely. The former Summoner just continued to mutter to herself worriedly until Gippal cut in"I won't help you."

Yuna stopped mumbling. "What? Why not?"

"'Cause I don't want to," Gippal stubbornly retorted.

"Why not?" Yuna persisted.

He gave a semi-dramatic sigh. "'Cause I don't like Leije."

"What do you mean, '_I don't like Leije,'_? _You_ don't have to like him, just Rikku. What's not to like about him?"

"I just _don't like him." _Gippal repeated.

"Why not?"

The one-eyed Al Bhed was really beginning to dislike that phrase. "'Cause I just _don't,_ okay? And speakin' of which, Leije is the _last_ employee I would pair up with Rikku at work, so thank you for givin' me the heads up, miss _super star," _He spit out the last words venomously, a malicious tone etched in his voice.

"Good Yevon, Gippal!" Yuna had sobered up quite a bit. "Don't mess this up for Rikku. Don't you want her to be happy?"

"There's more than one way for Rikku to be happy, and Leije isn't gonna be one of them. I'll _personally_ make sure that doesn't happen."

"In that case," Yuna gave him an ice cold glare, anger written all over her face. "I'll say what I came here to say in the first place. Stay away from Rikku."

"_Excuse me?"_ Gippal asked incredulously.

"Don't get in the way of their relationship, if you aren't going to help urge it on. I had a feeling that Tidus was telling the truth," Yuna said the last statement mainly to herself, ignoring the fact that she indeed, _hadn't_ believed him.

"What's so _great_ about Leije?" Gippal threw up his hands angrily. "What has he got that I don't?"

Yuna stared at him, a bit of realization dawning on her. "You don't have the capacity for love, and you _don't _love her. Even if you did, _you_ of all people could never love her the way Leije could!"

"Why the hell not?" Gippal sputtered, finally snapping and losing it. "What gives you the right to say _anything?"_

Yuna was shaking now. She was pissed. And that's saying something - she never got pissed. Come to think of it... Had she ever really been overly angry about something? She was probably overreacting, another one of her mood swings. Thank Yevon the pregnancy was almost over.

"You're a flirt, an egotistical, arrogant, seductive one night stand-"

"Crid dra ramm ib!"

Yuna cringed and realized that she had gone too far, gone way past her usual meek, sympathetic personality. What was she thinking? Maybe she was being a little too protective, getting angry over nothing...

"Get out," Gippal seethed, his one eye unreadable.

"Wait. Gippal, I'm sor-"

"_I said get out!"_

_'Getting out,_' Yuna thought to herself as she sprint slash hobbled out of the bar, not out of fear but out of guilt and regret. Just as she closed the door, she heard Gippal slam something on the counter and ordered something; she didn't stick around to hear what it was.

* * *

"What was the blitz ball originally called when it was first created?" Baralai read, directing the question to the other paired up teams - Rikku, Leije, and Yuna, Tidus.

Rikku was the first to hit her buzzer. "Ummm... uhhh, wait never mind," She gave a ditzy laugh.

Baralai sighed. "Rikku, you buzzed in, you have to answer now."

"...Water ball?"

"Wrong," the praetor stiffled a smile as Paine took a point off of Rikku and Leije's score.

Rikku glanced over at Leije, who seemed to be bored. As if on cue, he mumbled, "I think I'm gonna go take a walk."

"_Leije_! Then I won't have a partner," Rikku whined, her heart only half into it - he hadn't scored them any points. Had he even _played _Blitzball before?

"Blitzball Trivia isn't exactly my favorite game. Go ask Gippal to play, or something. Speaking of which, where has he been?"

Silence.

"Well, whatever. I'll see you in a while, Rikku." Leije gave Rikku a reassuring grin and rose, heading out the door and leaving Rikku partner-less.

"Awwww, _poo-"_

Paine glared at Rikku. "You sound like a toddler when you talk like that. Grow up."

"_Fine._ Awww, man!" Rikku scowled. After a moment, she continued, "Has anyone seen Gippal lately? I am _not_ going to forfeit this game; we werealmost winning!"

"Yuna and Tidus have 13 points, Baralai and I have 7, and you have negative 5." Paine stated, supressing a smirk.

"And your point would be...?"

"Gippal's in the bar," Baralai cut in, gesturing towards the hall. "Although your odds of getting him to play are very unlikely."

"Rikku," Yuna faced her cousin, looking a bit fretful. "Maybe it'd be better if you just teamed up with us. It'd be better not to... _bother_ Gippal right now."

"No way!" Tidus objected. "We're gonna lose if she's on our side!"

Rikku just glared at him and rose from her position at the table. "I'll just have to _force_ him to play then," she smiled and walked off.

"Wait. Really, Rikku, it'd be better not to."

"Yunie, what's wrong? It's not _that_ big of a deal." Rikku shrugged off her cousin's warning and closed the door behind her.

Skipping towards the wooden door to the taproom, she gave three loud knocks. No answer.

"Gippal?" She gently opened the door, softly closing it behind her. There he was, head bent over the counter, empty glasses littering the area. Hearing her as she approached, Gippal turned around, taking in her figure with clouded, hazy eye(s).

"..R-Rikku..?"

* * *

-blinks- Review! Bmayca:D 


	8. Chapter VIII

* * *

Yay! I'm back. Sort of. Oh yes, I got grounded from the computer for like, the rest of my life… (at least the internet) so… Basically I come on before after and (erm.. during) school. But –gasp- what sort of hellish punishment is SPRING BREAK? Okay that a little odd sounding. Spring break is a break. Nuff said. So, uh, I found a computer and… well obviously… -shuts up- Thank you to everyone, including oOoDancingQueenoOo, mushimars, Klyssa, CrimsonReaper, interceptorshero, Hakkai'sHerFavorite, Laura, and Lemy. If I forgot you please shoot me. I mean… Okay you know what, on with the story…

* * *

He was looking at her with the most curious of expressions; it was almost a mixture of lust and confusion, with a side of frustration.

Rikku gulped. "Gippal..? Are you feeling all right...?"

Gippal made no move to answer; he just kept staring at her intently.

"Uhhm.. We're playing this game, and I don't have a partner anymore, so I was thinking that maybe-"

The dazed mist was still present in his eyes as Rikku chattered on, and Gippal edged closer to her, mumbling incoherent things under his breath.

Worriedly, Rikku continued, "Gippal, are you sure you're alr-"

Rikku gasped as Gippal was on her in a flash, mouth on hers, alcohol reeking from his breath. Her eyes were plastered open and her thoughts were fuzzy as shock encompassed her body.

'Is this really happening?' her thoughts were still blurred, her intuition indistinct. 'What is this? Bliss, heaven, ecstasy?'

'Wait just one vilgehk minute...'

The faintly romantic soundtrack screeched to a halt as realization dawned on her.

Violently attempting to push the drunken Al Bhed away, she irately screamed out, "I'm not one of your whores, Gippal!"

Unfortunately for Rikku, he must not have understood, for directly after her statement, he grabbed something Rikku did _not_ want fondled.

"Oui cuh uv y pedlr!" She screamed, vigorously bringing up her knee and slamming it into his abdomen.

He flinched, taking in a sharp breath and collapsing for a split second into Rikku. The two clamorously crashed into the wall a few feet of way, making a great deal of racket.

"What was that?" Paine's head snapped up, her eyes wandering.

"Rikku!" Yuna gasped.

"Gippal!" Baralai uttered simultaneously.

"I knew it was a bad idea for her to go get him..." Yuna continued worriedly. Rising up, she looked at Tidus. "Tidus stay here, I'll be right back."

"I'm coming," Paine stated, following suit and rising from her seat.

Tidus blinked. "Wha's goin' on?" As he watched the others leave him, he immediately shouted, "The game's not finished yet! HEY!"

Baralai stopped in his tracks and sighed. Turning to Paine, he said, "I'll be right there. Tidus?"

Tidus glared at him. "We were winning."

And so Paine and Yuna dashed off to the happy barroom as Baralai convinced Tidus that no, the game in fact, was _not_ over yet.

Dashing into the bar, the two women enttered to see Gippal all over Rikku and Rikku looking pissed, with a dash of 'I'm-scared-shitless-and-yet-aroused-at-the-same-time'.

"Rikku?" Yuna's eyes widened.

"Yunie, you don't happen to have gun I could borrow, do you?"

"...No..."

"Damn," Rikku yet again attempted to push Gippal away (her heart wasn't really into it, though). "Well, can you at least make sure Leije doesn't see us like this-"

"Leije?" Gippal finally spoke and temporarily cocked his head, his eyes blood shot and wide. "Frana?"

"Paine, is everything okay?" Baralai's voice sounded out in the hall, and he entered the barroom.

Gippal's eyes snapped on his friend's form. "Oui vilgehk bnelg!" He pulled out his very familiar automatic handgun.

"Gippal, fryd dra ramm yna oui tuehk?" Rikku screeched, flabbergasted, eyes distended.

'"Gippal, please calm down," Baralai's voice was edgy. Sure, he was used to his friends randomly pointing guns at his head, but most of the time they were sober. Usually.

"Cdyo yfyo vnus Rikku!"

"Ohh, boy. Isn't this fun?" Paine commented sarcastically as Gippal aimed in the general vicinity of "Leije"'s (Or in this case, Baralai's) direction and shot a few times.

Baralai clutched his arm as one of the bullets slightly grazed his shoulder. "Okay, you know what? This room is officially _off limits."_

With blurry eyes Gippal shakily aimed from Yuna to Baralai to Paine, right back to Baralai, attention off Rikku for the moment.

"Oii! I found the broom!" Rikku grunted as she swung the wooden object at Gippal's head, a loud _crunch_ echoing as Gippal was knocked to the floor. His gun fell right after him with a loud _clang._

_"_Well this is just _great." _Rikku complained loudly. "Now where am I going to find a partner?"

_"_Hmm. Poor Gippal," Yuna sighed.

Later that Night

"Holy hell... My head..." Gippal breathed, tenderly rubbing a large bump on the back of his head. "When did this happen..."

He slowly sat up, making sure not to rise too fast and pass back out. "Whoa..." Gippal muttered, noting that it was night time outside. "Must have slept in... Damn... huh?"

Gippal looked up, slightly startled as Rikku meekly opened the door. "Oh.. Sorry! You're up, I see."

"Eh... Yeah..."

"You feeling all right?"

"I've got a killer headache..."

"That's not surprising," Rikku rose an eyebrow.

"Huh?" He blinked.

"I sort of knocked you out with a broom."

"Fryd dra vilg?"

Rikku just looked at him and giggled, clearly amused at Gippal's apparent loss of memory, either from the blow or alcohol content. "'Lai locked up the barroom. No one's allowed in anymore. Good goin', Gippy."

Gippal blinked. "Okay, you've lost me."

Rikku just continued to giggle. Sitting cross-legged on the bed next to him, she continued, "So, I knew you didn't like Leije, but I had no idea that you were _jealous..." _

"Fryd? Nuh-uh, don't know what you're talking about."

"_Sure, _Gippal. What ever you say."

"Where the hell did you get that idea?"

Rikku just eyed him for a moment, clearly contemplating something. Eventually she took a deep breath and rose to her feet.

"Leije is something else, isn't he?" She sighed dreamily, staring up at the wall, her apparent infatuation never reaching her eyes.

"..." Gippal's eyes narrowed.

"And just think," Rikku bent down and grabbed his hands with her own. "If it weren't for _you_, I never would have met him!"

(Of course this was a lie, but he was oblivious to this.)

Giggling, Rikku stood up and left the room, softly shutting the door behind her as she exited.

* * *

It's short, but at least it's something. Sorry I like, sort of died... If there's any mistakes (like ummm… not spelling, but like… Urgh..) it's 'cause of the god damn effing Mac. Let meh quote: '_ This editor requires Internet Explorer 5.0, Netscape.. bla, bla, bla… A regular textarea will be displayed instead.  
So basically it's html to fix mistakes. Whoop-dee-freaking-do. _


	9. Chapter IX

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not FFX-2, not Veggie Tales… Uh? Huh? Oh crap, I don't watch that, I uh, it's my little cousin Noah… x.x; . 

Thank you over and over and over and over and a million, trillion times over again for all of your lovely reviews. And stuff.

Yeah. … -has song lyrics stuck in her head..-

_Please don't cry Barbara, _

_You're a nice Manatee, _

_You've been so good to me,_

_But I must go into the world and do noble things for the good of all!_

_And you can't come because you don't speak French._

……………………………

"Oh look… More buildings…"

Bevelle. Enormous buildings, awed tourists, and snobby monks – the whole enchilada.

"I know, aren't they beautiful?" Rikku sighed ecstatically, either ignoring or not catching Tidus's obvious sarcasm.

According to Baralai, today was their _Grand Tour. _It was mandatory for everyone to attend, or else risk offending Baralai – something you _really_ didn't want to do. Only Yuna was exempt from going, who's health wasn't at it's best, and Gippal, who had conspicuously disappeared as soon as Baralai made the announcement.

Overall, everyone was in a fair enough mood, Rikku's being the best. Of course, she told herself, it had nothing to do with being able to torture Gippal. Tidus was obviously bored – that was nothing new, Baralai was as professional as ever, and Leije stayed quiet – lost in his own thoughts.

"No… Blitzball," Tidus continued miserably. "My life is barren…"

Paine's head snapped in Tidus's direction. "Would you _stop_ complaining?"

At this comment, Baralai leaned towards Paine's ear and whispered loudly, "I think that Rikku and Tidus may have been twins separated at birth, eh?"

Rikku let the conversation flow in one ear and out the other, eagerly looking at all of the interesting people around her. So different, and yet so similar…

Tidus's indignant voice sounded out. "_He-ey! _I-"

Suddenly, Rikku's hearing was turned abruptly off. Everything became dim and unclear, all because of one face.

The man must have been in his late forties, if not older. His hair was going grey, dirty and matted, his face and features elongated, his eyes shrewd. Malicious.

How Rikku remembered that face was unclear; it was as if memories – if not hers, then someone else's – flooded back to her, nearly causing the Al Bhed to black out.

_That face._

_That fire._

She lost control. _Was this someone else's fury?_

"Oui-oui pycdynt!" ('You-you bastard!') A passionate war cry escaped her lips as she flung herself at the man, taking him by surprise and tackling him to the ground. Blood was rushing to her head, her heart was beating so fast – her emotions had gone haywire. Rikku let out another mumbled Al Bhed curse as she began to beat the man with her fists in fury.

"Rikku?" Paine eyed her worriedly, trying to pull the girl off.

"What're you doing, Ri?" Tidus stood there, unmoved, baffled, while Baralai's eyes darted around at the nearby spectators.

Leije did not move.

His eyes were locked on the man.

"I-I-I d-don't know!" Rikku's own voice sounded terrified as it rose to a shriek near the last word, "Help!"

As the Bevellian man Rikku had so rudely tackled began to regain his senses, he grabbed her oncoming hand at the wrist with ease.

"..Rikku.. Is it..?" The man breathed heavily.

He twisted.

The crack seemed to echo in her own ears, her nerves fearfully awaiting the pain. As it came, her whole body jerked back; she instinctively closed her eyes and nurtured her now broken wrist.

"Sir, get back here!" Baralai's voice sounded far away. Footsteps echoed near, then distant, and finally vanished completely.

Rikku slowly opened one of her eyes – the man was long gone.

And so was Leije.

………………………………

"So, Rikku. You said you didn't know that man?" Yuna asked with concern, her hands meekly wrapping a gauze bandage around the Al Bhed's wrist.

"..N-no.. I-I didn't," Rikku's voice sounded small to her own ears. _Why was she lying? Or was she telling the truth? She couldn't tell anymore-_

"A-anyway, have you found Leije yet?" Rikku attempted to casually change the subject – even so, she genuinely did want to know of his whereabouts.

Yuna seemed to catch that Rikku was attempting to change the subject again, but she played along anyhow. "Baralai found him loitering in the gardens. He won't talk to anyone, though," she sighed thoughtfully.

Almost immediately, Rikku rose to leave. Yuna attempted to hold her back by catching onto her wrist, which ended up in Rikku cringing and Yuna apologizing profusely.

"I'll be back soon, all right Yunie? There's just something I have to ask him, that's all." Rikku gave her cousin one last reassuring smile as she rose and left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

As soon as she stepped outside, Rikku instantly noticed the lazy shadow of a figure abruptly to her right. She turned to lock eyes with another pair of green ones.

"Where you goin'?" Gippal questioned, his arms crossed and his eyes lingering on her broken and bandaged wrist.

Rikku was reluctant to answer him. "I.. There's someone I have to speak with. Excuse me-"

As she tried to brush past him, he grabbed her arm and held on with a vice-like grip. "Leije, right?" He almost sounded defeated. _Almost._

"…Well. Yeah."

There was an uncomfortable silence before Gippal let go of her arm and strutted back inside, acting for all the world like he didn't care. Rikku just shrugged it off – she didn't have time to play mind games with Gippal. She'd just have to deal with him later.

…………………………………….

Gippal's CommSphere screen was static as it tried again and again to connect. Perspire dripped from his brow as he waited.

This was the first time in, well, a _long_ ass time he'd been nervous. And that was saying something.

He didn't know what the hell he was doing. This was probably just some big mistake waiting to happen – _he'd _probably say no, _she'd_ probably hate him (if she didn't already, that is)… No, worse: She would think he was a coward – going behind her back…

"Hey-llo?" Cid's voice rang out, the static screen finally dissolving into picture.

Well, you can't be brave all of the time.

"Hey, Cid," Gippal greeted uneasily.

"Meh. What do you want, boy?" Cid scowled. "Still in Bevelle?"

"Yes, I am, and no, I don't want anything," he lied, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Well, actually, I… have a proposition to make."

Cid looked up at him skeptically. "Well?"

Gippal took a deep breath, preparing himself. "Well…" Pause. "It's Rikku! He let it all out. "She's been running around (_sure)_ with this Leije guy (_and Yuna)_ acting like a lovesick puppy (_bullshit)_ and he's not even Al Bhed (_half, actually)_!" Gippal let out the last words with an extra emphasis.

"…So?" Cid folded his arms and rose an eyebrow. "I'm not her mother," he snickered.

"Gippal gawked at him. "Well.. I- I just thought that you could, might – I mean – intervene," He gulped nervously, "And uh, _maybe marry her off-"_

"To who?" Cid interrupted gruffly.

"…Me," _Whoa, was that his tiny sounding voice?_ Gippal cleared his throat.

"Boy?" Cid called out, sounding concerned.

"Huh?"

"Are you drunk?"

…………………………….

Au revoir!

_But if you leave Bill, who will take me to the ball?_

_Who's going to take me to the ball, Bill?_

_I just bought a new dress and shoes_

_And some new Manatee lipstick_

_Who will take me to the ball?_

I'll take you to the ball Barbara Manatee!


	10. Chapter X

Disclaimer: I definitely, one hundred percent do NOT own FFX-2.

Okies? Thank you for the reviews, I'm sorry Gippy was outta character - I'll try to make him in charry more often than not.

_I don't think this has the making of one of those, "Rikku and Gippal live happily together ever after" fics, so..._

_

* * *

_

Three in the morning.

Rikku was sprawled across the guest bed of her room, having succumbed to the need for sleep. Although the bed was lined with silk sheets and feather pillows, comfort does not necessarily make way for a peaceful night's sleep.

The Al Bhed tossed and turned, her forehead etched with worry marks. Her brow was creased and perspire was dripping down from her forehead, never quite touching her pillow. Incoherent muttering could be heard under her breathe in little shallow gasps. Rikku unconsciously grabbed a handful of sheets, trying to make her dreams leave.

"Hu... hu..." Toss. "Sudran, sudren..." Turn. "..Susso!" (-"No... no..." "Mother, mother..." "..Mommy!"-) A sharp cry was let loose as Rikku slipped further into the world of dreams.

* * *

_"Mai?" An excited voice called out, her footsteps muffled from outside the room. "I know you're in there - lemme in!"_

_The lass's foot tapped out impatiently as she waited for the lock to click and the door to open, revealing a somewhat tired Al Bhed woman, her lovely hair swept back in a clip. _

_"I had a feeling you'd come to visit, if only to question me to death, Celisse," Maia laughed softly, motioning for her friend to come in._

_Unlike Maia, Celisse was pretty rather than beautiful. Instead of elegance, Celisse was wrapped up in a cute demeanor. Rather than Mai's responsible, quiet dedication to the world, Celisse took in everything with a laugh, a happy-go-lucky, life's-just-peachy-keen sort of attitude._

_They were friends at heart._

_"I can't believe - I just - I-" Celisse fumbled for words, excitement taking her almost to the point of hyperventilation. "I can't believe you're engaged! The announcement, the - how long have you known?"_

_Mai gave a warm smile. "Since I was twelve. A lot of coping time, you know. Time that I used wisely, I think."_

_Celisse rolled her eyes. "Of course, you use everything wisely, don't you, now?" She gave her friend a gentle push. "But you know... The main reason I came... They announced the engagement, and that a wedding was being scheduled but - ah! You're dad's so aggravating!"_

_Mai covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. "He is, isn't he?"_

_"He didn't even say to who! And I'm not waiting a whole two days to find out. You're just going to have to tell me." Celisse gave Mai a look. You know, _that_ look. The one that says, 'You better tell me or I just might have to kill you'._

_"So, who is it? Huh, huh? Who?"_

_Mai broke out into a smile. "Cid."_

_"Really? He's so cute!"_

_"Hey!" Mai faked a glare and chucked a pillow in Celisse's general direction, hitting her in the stomach. Celisse suddenly made a convulsive gesture and dropped to the floor, acting out a dramatic death scene. _

_Mai rose an eyebrow and waited for her friend to come back to reality._

_Celisse was still limp on the floor._

_"I want a girl," Mai suddenly commented, causing Celisse to lift up her head. "I spunky little blonde, with bright green eyes."_

_Celisse snorted. "Well of _course_ she'd be blonde." She put her head back down, lapsing into thought. _

_A comfortable silence filled the room until Mai said, "Celisse?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Don't you ever get tired of your dad traveling around so much?"_

_Celisse blinked. "Well, I... I don't know."_

_"What's it like?" Mai looked sincerely interested._

_"Umm... I don't know. There's the ocean, and lots of buildings... And lot's of Yevonites."_

_"Oh."_

_"I don't think they like us very much, though. But that's okay, you know? I have enough love for the both of us, I think."_

_Another giggle escaped Mai's lips. _

_"I've got a brilliant idea, Mai!" Celisse's head suddenly shot up. _

_"Huh?" Mai was a bit taken back by Celisse's abrupt shout. But then again, she _did_ tend to do this all of the time._

_"Where's that one book?" Celisse crawled over to Mai's dresser, scrimmaging for something (apparently a book)._

_"Uh, Celi? I have a lot of books, you know..."_

_"That one. Uh..." Her hand moved something and revealed a nicely decorated book of Al Bhed Time Stories. "Aha! It was always my favorite when I was little._

_"Which one?"_

_"'Dra Baycyhd Bnehlacc'. You know, the one where the two royal families arrange a marriage between their children, but the little girl gets cursed and has to go into hiding with a peasant. So the children never meet each other. But when they're older, the peasant princess is secretly invited to a magnificent ball. When she gets there, everyone looks down on her. Ignoring her, all of them - except for the Prince. He can't stop staring at her. It's love at first sight, you know? And then at the end of the story, she finds out she's really a princess, and that she's been engaged with him since her birth." (-"The Peasant Princess"-)_

_"I remember that one," Mai sighed thoughtfully._

_"Hey, Mai?" Celisse yawned, carefully turning the pages of the book._

_"Hmm?"_

_"We can have our children marry each other! If I have a boy, that is."_

_Mai's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Oh! It could be just like in the story!"_

_"They could even meet each other at a beautiful ball!"_

_Celisse clapped her hands gleefully. "Oh, I can't wait until I-" Her voice faltered as another thought took her. _

_"What's the matter?" Mai's concerned voice rang out._

_"Nothing... It's just, you know..."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Well," she took a deep breath. "Do you think that maybe.. Someone, you know.. not Al Bhed would ever.. marry..."_

_"You mean a Yevonite?"_

_"..Yeah."_

_Mai's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure."_

_

* * *

_

_"We will always remember Lady Maia as a responsible, caring Al Bhed, a loving mother, an obedient spouse, and a leader among our people."_

_Mourning was commonly looked down upon in the Al Bhed culture, but a fairly large number of people were gathered at the funeral of Lady Maia. The woman had been found dead in her garden, a smile on her face, no apparent cause of death. Some Al Bhed were stunned at the sudden end of such a gentle, not to mention famous, woman. _

_A few feet away from the casket stood Cid, silent tears streaming down his face as he held the hand of his six year old daughter with care. The little girl, Rikku, stood quietly next to her father, concerned that her father was crying but not entirely understanding why or what was happening. Next to the casket was a kneeling Brother, wailing and sobbing his eyes out, not caring who was watching._

_Across from the broken family stood another woman, familiar to Cid but unknown to the children. Her eyes held a sense of grief almost deeper than Cid's own, her tear stained face no longer glowing with laughter. Behind her a little boy poked out, messy brown hair sticking out everywhere. A yawn escaped his lips before his own brown eyes caught the little Al Bhed's green ones. They locked for a split second before another yawn protruded from Leije and Rikku focused her attention on her bawling brother. _

_

* * *

_

Rikku's eyes snapped open. Her body shot up and she was in a sitting position within two seconds, covered in dried sweat. It was enthralling how quickly she shifted from unconcious to concious, no in between time.

Her only thought was, that no matter what time it happened to be, she needed to speak with Leije. Right then. Questions needed to be answered, fears needed to be put to rest.

Getting dressed as quickly as she could manage, Rikku nearly tumbled out of her room as she dashed into Leije's, forgetting to knock.

Not that it mattered.

He wasn't there.

What time was it? What, three thirty in the morning?

Biting her lip, Rikku closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her thumbs, as if that would magically give some sign as to where he could be at this hour of the night.

'_Maybe he was uncomfortable and went to the lounge. Or maybe... Maybe he passed out at the bar? Gippal did that once didn't he...? Meh, Gippal's crazy, Leije wouldn't...'_

Urrrrgh..!"

'_Wait... maybe... he just couldn't sleep. Maybe he went for a walk.'_

Ah! Of course! The garden!" Rikku's face lit up as she headed out to the Bevellian Garden.

* * *

Thankies a bunch, review please! v.v 


	11. Chapter XI

**Disclaimer:** No own nada.

**Okay, thank you for letting me know about the frickin' repeating part - I fixed it. That pissed me off. And I added a little bit more to the chapter near the end to make up for the mistake. So, I apologize.**

Heya, mi amigos! Sorry about me, like, uh.. disappearing for roughly a month... Sick, end of school, vaca me sleeping and playing FFVII.

But really, thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! Those always make my day. It's what finally got me to get off my lazy ass and write the next chapter. There's probably going to be roughly three chapters more, depending on which ending I go with. Umm.. if it's the second one.. then maybe more like six more chapters... Or I could have two endings and that would make... Nine! wOOt!

Dunno. But read and review, please!

* * *

Rikku stepped out from under the pavilion, taking a quick breather before heading out further into the garden. The dark sky shown overhead, overshadowing the flowers throughout Bevelle's backyard. A slight breeze flew through, rustling her hair, but the overall silence was deafening. 

Impatience was starting to wear her down. "Where could he..."

There he was, by the spring, by the bridge, just like she thought. A lone figure backed up by a thousand twinkling stars.

"...Be," Rikku tread lightly over towards the figure. "..Leije?" She called out hesitantly.

His form looked startled as her voice rang out, and he turned to face her. Leije visably relaxed when he realized it was just Rikku.

"Hey," he replied, worry lines etched into his face. "What are you doing up at this hour, Ri?"

Rikku took a sharp breath. "I could ask you the same thing. It's almost four in the morning. Have you even slept?"

". . ." He made no move to reply.

She edged closer to Leije, who abruptly turned away from her. His back facing her, Rikku nervously started to speak.

"Leije, I think we need to talk."

"Last night, I.. Well, this night, I guess. I mean, just now, before I came, I-" Rikku gave a deep sigh, mentally criticizing herself for stuttering. "I had a dream about my mother, Maia. She was.. about my age. It was like I was there."

"Anyway, that one isn't important. After... I had a dream about my mom's death. Her funeral, when I was six. Her friend was there... Celisse." She gave Leije a curious look. "Celisse was your mother, wasn't she?"

"Leije!"

"...Maybe she was." He finally answer her.

_Behind her a little boy poked out, messy brown hair sticking out everywhere. A yawn escaped his lips before his own brown eyes caught the little Al Bhed's green ones._

"You were that little boy, weren't you? At the funeral?"

She stepped closer, poking her head into his line of vision. "Do you... remember me?"

". . ." He turned his head the other direction.

Rikku clenched her fists, scowling at his back. Silently fuming, she stomped up to his back and roughly pushed him.

Leije stumbled, but managed to keep most of his balance and not face her.

"You know what? I saw that sphere in your room, and-"

"What were you doing in my room?" Leije turned to face her, eyes flashing.

"Looking for you, that's what!" Rikku glared right back. "I know that your mother wasn't the only one who was in that fire. There was a boy..."

_'..Dare live amongst Yevonites.. think you're worthy?'_

Leije clutched his head, overcome with a sudden, fierce headache.

"...In the building, he was hit..."

_...He fell limp, body slamming against the ground... blood was gushing from beneath his chin..._

Leije fell to the ground, landing on his knees, still clutching his head.

_...He didn't look like he was breathing. . ._

"Hey, Leije, are you alright?" Rikku's worried voice rang out.

_'..Al Bhed scum..'_

Rikku anxiously leaned down, worried that she had struck a cord. She didn't know it would distress him that much... The Al Bhed reached a hand out to calm him down.

Pyreflies burst out from Leije's body.

Rikku's hand froze midair. Her mouth dropped open, words stuck in her throat but unable to rush out.

"What's .. going on..." Leije breathed, pyreflies swarming around him as he kneeled down. "I don't..."

"You..." Rikku's eyes widened. She knew, she had known, it had just been a theory, she hadn't dared to utter it aloud. But now... "You... You're... Leije..."

He didn't dare look up at her. ". . .Rikku. ." Leije's figure started to flicker. In, out. In, out. "In denial, heh..."

"Wait! Leije!" Rikku fell to the floor, knees covered in dirt. She tried to grasp onto him, but her efforts were in vain. "Who did this to you? _Who?"_

Leije gave a roguish smile that vanished almost as quick as it had appeared. "Abrem... He's apart of the Yevonite temple..." A harsh cough escaped his lips. "Hey Rikku..."

"What, what is it? Leije? Leije!"

"Calm down, Ri..." Another fleeting smile. "That guy, in Bevelle..."

"That was him?" Her voice was panicky. Angry.

"..Yeah.. There are two others. I've been lookin' for them.." His body ceased to flicker - now the whole of him was translucent. "They've got something of mine..."

"What do they have?" Rikku's teeth had started to chatter. Was it really that cold outside? Or was she just letting out nervous energy?

_An elongated face... tight features... shrewd eyes... _

"I'll get it back for you Leije. From _him. _If you'll just tell me what..."

He opened his mouth to reply. "It..."

"Yes? What is it?"

Leije's body went from translucent to transparent in a matter of seconds. Then, he was gone - along with the remnants of the pyreflies.

Rikku stood still for a moment, unable to comprehend what had just transpired between them. Nor could she comprehend the fact that Leije was no longer kneeling in front of her.

Leije. Dead.

Just like his father.

Just like Auron.

The beginnings of tears stung at her eyes, but Rikku numbly brushed them aside. She was _going_ to find the men responsible for this, and they were _going_ to pay.

In between her dull, angry thoughts, a yawn escaped her lips. Yes, they would pay - in the morning, that is.

* * *

Onto the next chapter! I'm going to try and write it as soon as possible so leave everyone hanging. A fight scene... Wheee! I've been wanting to write one of those forever, it's gonna be my first so don't get your hopes up... I think anyway. XD 


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